Can I Borrow Your Umbrella?
by AutumnRhythm
Summary: It started with a grudge, and turned into something much, much more. They say you walk a fine line between love and hate. E X B
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Alrighty, so, I hope that you enjoy this story…it's kind of dry for the first chapter, but the following ones get much better. Also, I'm trying to make this so that Edward isn't a womanizer, but I'm also trying not to move too slowly. On the other hand, the story line might be moving too fast…so, tell me what you think. I appreciate all comments!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight, nor it's characters…**

**Enjoy! (It will all be in Bella's POV, so, no POV hopping.)**

**Chapter 1**

My heels click-clacked on the cement, blending in with the incessant, soporific drone of the raindrops that plunged from the sky like pennies off a skyscraper. Each droplet sent up a spray of water that drenched my legs, staining my nylons a dark brown. Oily pools of liquid dotted the sidewalk as often as the small, washed-out circles of faded chewing gum spit by New Yorkers and tourists every day. God, I hated the rain.

I fumed beneath the raggedy newspaper I held above my head, a feeble attempt at shielding my hair from the downpour. I had just paid thirty dollars to get it to look nice, and for nothing. Alice had been right when she told me to buy an umbrella. Why hadn't I listened to her?

I swore as I made it to the curb, a taxi spraying mud onto my shoes as it sped away. I glared at the yellow car's quickly diminishing license plate, cursing the lucky soul who had managed to obtain a cab before me. It would be minutes before another one came along, and I didn't have minutes to spare.

I don't know how long I stood like that, huddled over, soaked to the bone, and looking like a stray cat, when I noticed the cloaked figure beside me. He was tall, wearing a tan raincoat that had darkened to umber after being drenched in the rain. His head was covered by a black umbrella that stood ominously between us like a wall of fabric…a wall I desperately wanted to be behind.

I looked at my options—it was New York, it was a Monday morning—at four A.M. no less—and most people who were awake at this hour were either too sleep-deprived to even notice you, or caffeinated to the point of hysteria. If I had to choose between the two, the guy looked like he was sleep-deprived. Hell, I was sleep-deprived—but that didn't stop me from wanting to get underneath that umbrella. I was absolutely sick of being wet, and I had a meeting to attend. Maybe if I asked nicely enough, he'd share the comfort of his umbrella with me for a couple of minutes, at the least. Or he might spit in my face and shout obscenities at me for disturbing him. One of the two. But I liked his taste in raincoats, so I decided that, on an appearance scale, he could be trusted. I would give it a shot.

"Hey," I said nervously, tapping him on the shoulder. "Would you mind sharing your umbrella with me for a minute? I would really appreciate it."

He turned slowly to face me, his posture setting off alarm bells in my head. His stance practically shouted that he was seriously annoyed. But I couldn't move—I had gotten myself in, and I would have to get myself out.

"Why?" I could vaguely see two green eyes glaring at me from the shadows created by his collar and the shade of his umbrella.

"Uh, sorry," I said, frowning, "I just, you know…" I waved the newspaper above my head to try and signify just what exactly was wrong with my position. "I have a meeting to attend and I'd really prefer it if I didn't arrive sopping wet."

He snorted. "Right." He then turned away, tipping his umbrella towards me so that I couldn't see his profile.

What was his problem? "Whatever," I muttered. Stupid, stuck-up New Yorker. He probably thought I was some kind of chick coming on to him—he would be lucky if I was attracted to him. He was obviously a pig—who would be so rude to a woman who just wanted a little shelter from the rain?

I was too preoccupied with his arrogance and tactlessness to notice the yellow car that swerved up to the curb. The man leaped in front of me, raising one brown-clad arm and yelling, "Taxi!" I gaped as he literally shoved me aside and swept into the cab, not even sparing me a backwards glance.

"Jerk!" I yelled, scowling at him.

He ignored me, swiftly closing his umbrella and bundling it into the interior of the car. Only the top of his bronze-colored head was visible as he slammed the door in my face.

"Jerk!" I shouted again for good measure, knowing full well that he could hear me—the cars weren't soundproof. I grimaced as it sped out of sight, hoping that he felt guilty. But, from his actions, I guessed that his conscious probably didn't play that big of a part in his every-day decision making. What a jerk.

I shook my head and sighed with exasperation. I was going to be late.

**ASADSFADS ASADSFADS ASADSFADS**

I practically flung myself into the elevator, quickly jabbing the number 20 before proceeding to squeeze-dry my hair. I fingered the limp mess with disgust—if only that guy had let me stand under his umbrella for just one minute—then I wouldn't be in this position. But no, some people had to act like complete goons.

I stood in front of the elevator mirror, deciding on what I should do with my hair. I settled for tying it back in a bun, trying to make it look as professional as possible. Sure, it did look like I had put a little too much gel on this morning…but that was okay. I could live with that. I smoothed out my rumpled beige skirt, making sure that my white blouse was clean and devoid of lint. I was glad that I had at least remembered a jacket, though it was exceptionally small, and had had the presence of mind not to use it to shield my hair—otherwise, my top would be see-through right now. It was comforting to know that I had some amount of foresight.

I took in a deep breath. What had Jasper taught me to think right before I did anything stressful? Oh, yeah—composed. Calm. Elegant. Refined. Professional. Beautiful. Clever. Serene. Couth. I ran through as many complimentary adjectives as I could, stopping short right as the elevator took a shuddering halt at my destination, Floor 20. I gulped and waited for the gold doors to open. I had to remind myself that I was just working my way up the corporate ladder—secretary today, district attorney tomorrow. I would start simple, but have a big finish. And besides, I would only have this job for about a year—then I would have enough money to pay my way through law-school. That was, of course, if I actually got the job in the first place…

The doors slid open, revealing a long hallway that stretched before me, a crème-tiled floor set off by stark white walls. There was a table every five feet with a vase full of roses, and artwork hanging directly above. It was symmetrical on the borderline of freakish. And then, not twenty feet from me, was the front desk.

I gulped and started walking forward, careful not to hurry. If I hurried, I might look too eager…but if I dawdled, I wouldn't look eager enough. The perfect medium was hidden somewhere in the balance—I could only hope that I wasn't too far off the mark.

Clack. Clack. Clack. Clack. The sound of my footsteps echoed through the hall, while my shadow contrasted sharply with the walls, looking like a stalker crept silently behind me while I stayed merely one step ahead. It was unnerving—the lawyers who worked here probably won most of their cases through sheer intimidation, starting off with the paint job. I shivered. I would hate to see what the people were actually like in comparison with the décor…probably frightening. Ah, well—welcome to the real world.

I paused at the desk, not overlooking the fact that the blond bimbo gave me a once over. She raised an eyebrow as I coolly delivered my perfectly prepared line, "I'm here to apply for the position of secretary to the Cullen Wing." The job I was applying for sounded pretentious, even to me. The Cullens were a family of lawyers, true, but getting their own wing? That was flaunting it a bit. It was like they were a firm within a firm. Talk about cliquish.

"Really?" she said disbelievingly. I resisted the urge to glare at her. First impressions were everything, after all. I had to maintain my calm demeanor.

"Yes," I said smoothly. "My name is Isabella Swan."

She quickly scanned the list of the applicants who had scheduled meetings with the head of personnel, Victoria Blanch, before checking off my name on the list at the very bottom of the page—apparently, I was the last person to apply for this job. "Down the hallway, to the right, second door on your left. It should have the family name on it in bold, though, just in case the directions are too challenging." She smirked. I just smiled sweetly back—if I got a job here, I would find a way to deliver payback to this…what did her nametag say? Jessica? Oh, yes, I would get Jessica to regret the day she lorded herself over me and talked down to me. I hated people who did that. Just as I hated people who refused to share their umbrellas—they were basically all the same, if you looked at it karmically.

"Thanks," I said and walked off. I followed her directions to a tee, ending right outside the door she had said I would. I let out a deep breath and twisted the curving gold handle downwards, slipping inside.

I nearly fell over in shock—this was very different than the bland, beige outdoor corridor my eyes had grown accustomed to. Here, it looked like I had gone from Technicolor vision to black and white, because those were basically the only colors. Checkered black and white floor, white walls, black furniture—even black tables that looked like their wood was naturally that color. They were probably imported from some obscenely exotic island in the middle of nowhere. The only thing I could see that wasn't on either extreme of the color spectrum were slight dashes of red here and there—a red book, a red magazine, red flowers in the vase on the black table. Otherwise, it was simply black and white. I wondered vaguely whether I would see Charlie Chaplin saunter in, swinging his cane and twirling his moustache while silent-film subtitles popped up. The fact that there was no noise at all only helped with this fantasy.

I nearly jumped out of my skin when a door that was cleverly concealed in the wall to my right opened to reveal a severe looking woman with red hair pulled tightly back at the nape of her neck. Her eyes were stony and her lips quirked downwards as she turned to look at me, beckoning me forward.

"Name," she said, her voice as cold as her looks.

"Isabella Swan," I replied automatically. "Could you please tell me where—"

She held up a hand. I instantly quieted. "Only speak when spoken to. Are you here to apply for a job as secretary to one of the Cullens?"

I nodded, still mute.

"Do you know anything about the Cullens?" I was tempted to say that I thought they were ostentatious, but bit back my response. I simply settled for shaking my head.

"Really?" she looked incredulous. "You know nothing about them?"

I shook my head again. She frowned.

"Come here," her hand beckoned me forward, and I instantly obeyed. However, I maintained eye contact, making sure our gazes locked. I was not going to give her the notion that I was her inferior, though I hoped that I didn't seem too defiant. Luckily, she merely quirked an eyebrow at my intense stare, completely unfazed, and, if anything, slightly amused.

"Now," she said, her voice rigid, "you are going to take a quick look through this door, and you are going to see a person inside—his name is Edward Cullen. I am then going to shut this door, and you are going to tell me your honest first impressions. Are we clear?"

I nodded. I didn't feel the need to point out that this was the weirdest job application ever.

"Good. Take a look."

I stepped forward and bent my head around the doorway, peering into the room beyond. It was fairly small, with a black desk stuck against the left wall and a large window situated above it, while filing cabinets and bookshelves lined the rest of the walls. A simple white door was standing shut straight ahead of me—it probably led to a bigger, better office. But I decided that I liked this room—it was quiet and cozy, and seemed as friendly as an inanimate object could get. However, as soon as I laid eyes on the sole person in the room, I gasped.

It was the man who had refused to share his umbrella with me. I could only see his side view—he was staring out the window, no doubt plotting ways to destroy the Monday mornings of innocent females, and didn't even notice me. I whirled around to face the woman, anger apparent on my features. She looked surprised.

"First impressions?" she said. It didn't take a genius to figure out that she was confused about something.

"That," I seethed, "is the man who completely ruined my morning. He is a pig-headed, egotistical, arrogant know-it-all, and I have no intentions of working for him…for this _Edward Cullen_." True, I had only spent about five minutes in his presence, but when I formed an opinion of a person, it usually stuck—and that was because it was usually correct. So I didn't doubt my assessment of his character.

Instead of the shocked into silence response I had expected, the woman grinned good-naturedly at me, no longer seeming like a strict matron. "I completely agree. I think that we'll get along great, you and I. You see, you're perfect for this job."

I gaped at her. Had she not heard what I just said? Apparently not, because she continued. "First of all, your credentials are great—nice typing speed, by the way. But the important thing about you is that most people immediately take in his good looks and think about nothing else. It completely distracts them. But if you already hate him…his physical appearance shouldn't impact your work."

I blinked. "What?"

"Look," she said gently, her voice soft, "you have to take this job. You have no idea how many secretaries I've had to fire because they pay too much attention to his appearance and not to his completely idiotic and reprehensible actions. He may be a great lawyer, but he's not that great of a person…" at this she scowled, like she was remembering something painful, "…and he definitely needs a secretary that focuses on her work. I'm hoping you can take this job and do something with it. If you follow through with it for a month, I'll double your salary. But be warned, most girls don't last the week."

I was dumbfounded. She wanted me to have the job, and she was going to give me a greater salary if I stayed on the job for a month? It was too good to resist. "I'll take it," I said, hoping that I sounded determined, and not simply angry. In all honesty, I could care less what he looked like—he had been a complete jerk when I had done nothing to him. Resisting his non-existent charms would be easy.

"Good," she looked relieved. "By the way, my name's Victoria Blanch—I'm head of personnel, and secretary to the head of our firm, Murich & Co.. You can start work immediately."

I nodded as she led me over to the main desk in this black and white room, explaining every single one of the functions of my job.

"So, you basically handle all of his scheduling—he'll probably give you his Blackberry to update, so keep a USB cable cord with you at all times. Now, his office splits off of your office, which is the room you just looked into, so you'll have easy access to his files or if you need to speak with him. And, you may or may not have noticed, but you have a number of different file folders and drawers in which you can organize his cases. Are you following?"

I nodded, vaguely wondering whether I should have brought a pen and paper.

"Good. Now, the number one rule: Don't throw anything out. Ever. Case files can be used decades into the future by the police if they're reinvestigating and what-not, so no matter what, make space, don't clear it. Got it so far?"

I gave a hasty nod. She continued on with her monologue, while I briefly bobbed my head from time to time. I wasn't paying as much attention to her as I should have been. I was focused more on the future, and what it had in store. I honestly couldn't believe it—I was going to be a secretary to the guy who had refused to share his umbrella with me, who had shoved me out of the way in his haste to grab a taxi, and who had glared at me for no apparent reason. I was going to work for Edward Cullen.

"Now," she said, and I noticed that her voice had become grave, "there are to be no office romances, do you understand? Otherwise, I'll be forced to fire you. It's strict company policy."

I had to suppress a snort. Me, an office romance? That sounded like some clichéd, romantic, 50 cent novel. As if that would happen to me. But all I said was, "Of course, Miss Blanch. Whatever you say."

**ASADSFADS ASADSFADS ASADSFADS**

I thought I was going to start hyperventilating if I didn't step inside his office soon…I had been hanging outside of his door for five minutes now, and I still hadn't mustered the courage to enter. I was just so nervous—what if he recognized me as the woman who had called him a jerk? Not that I was sorry that I had done so, but it wasn't the best way to start off an employee-employer relationship. Besides, what if I walked in and my nefarious clumsy streak kicked in? What if I tripped and spilled the papers I was carrying all over the place—they looked like they were pretty important documents, not to mention their serious content…

If I messed up, did that mean all my plans for the future were completely ruined? I honestly didn't know. I wanted to just work here for one year—one year—and then I would have enough money to couple with my savings to send me to law school. And then I could come back as a lawyer and kick Edward Cullen out of town. But if I messed up now…

I took a deep breath and nudged the door open with my foot, striding inside in what I hoped was a collected and serene manner. Of course, he didn't know that I was mentally counting "In, two, three, out, two, three" to monitor my breathing. I didn't really trust myself to remember that I had a respiratory system.

It was a simple room, elegant and unadorned, but classy. Definitely classy. It had a certain elegance about it—I admired the taste of the decorator. The entire left wall was glass, sparkling in the afternoon light, and gave a bird's eye view of New York City. The ceiling was white, as well as the other three walls and the carpet, but the light from the window refracted so many colors across the room that it seemed as if white was the only hue not present. There was one smooth, ebony desk sitting by the wall directly ahead of me, two black chairs that looked as if they were part of a matching set sitting directly in front of it with their backs towards me—no doubt for clients to sit in. I instantly liked the place, even if I didn't particularly like the person within it.

Edward was sitting idly at his desk, a cup of coffee steaming at his right hand side, and a mess of papers sitting beneath his folded arms. My mouth started watering—I had been working all day, and had as yet to receive my normal dose of caffeine. I knew that I should have bought a coffee before I left for work in the first place, but of course I wanted to arrive super early to make a good impression…why was I so stupid?

I strode over to his desk, placing the papers in front of him with a slap. "Here," I said, perhaps a little too coldly.

He glanced up at me, and for the first time I got a glimpse of his entire face. He was really, really good-looking, I thought angrily. He had messy copper colored hair, glinting green eyes, and angular features…was this some sort of punishment? Was the universe getting back at me for lying my way out of going along with Alice on her last shopping spree? How was I supposed to work for a guy who was so damn attractive?

"And you are?" he said, clearly bored, sparing only a passing glance at the documents I had so kindly brought to him.

Instantly, all attraction ceased. Just because he looked nice didn't he mean he wasn't a jerk. In fact, he was a bigger jerk than ever. And, I was slightly miffed that he didn't even remember me as the woman who had asked to share his umbrella with him this morning…though now that I looked back on it, he probably had understandably expected that I would have only done so to somehow get his number…which made me further realize that he was completely arrogant. "I'm Isabella Swan," I said stiffly. "Your new secretary."

He raised his eyebrows at me. "I have a secretary?"

"Apparently," I said, gritting my teeth. He really wasn't helping his case.

His eyebrows rose even further. "So, since you're my secretary, you do whatever I tell you to?"

"Within reason," I said, trying to keep my temper in bounds. It would not do to get fired, it would not do at all…

His eyes widened. "So, you're here to help me. If I need something, you do it."

I gave a terse nod. I was sure that he was up to something—otherwise, why would he be acting like an idiot and saying that he didn't understand the meaning of "secretary"? Unless he was naturally thickheaded, in which case I couldn't understand why he was supposedly such a clever lawyer and businessman. But maybe he bought his reputation—which, from the looks of the expensive décor, sounded plausible.

He smirked suddenly, and casually knocked a pencil off of his desk. It rolled off of the wood with a grating sound before tumbling to the floor. "Pick it up," he commanded.

"What?" I couldn't control my outrage. Did he seriously think I would do that? "No!"

His smug smile grew more pronounced. "I just asked you to. Why won't you listen to your boss?"

"Because," I hissed, "it is completely ridiculous. It's only an inch away from you!"

He looked down, seemingly surprised. "Oh," he said lightly. "You're quite right. How rude of me." He took that opportunity to gently roll it away with the tip of his foot. It was now a good fifteen feet from his desk, right next to the wall.

I was positively boiling. He merely leaned back and asked me mockingly, "So, are you going to do what I asked you to? Or am I too much of a jerk?"

I felt my face blushing uncontrollably at that point, and I swore steam billowed out of my ears. I felt slightly triumphant that he had remembered me—at least I wasn't completely forgettable. But toying with me like that—how dare he?

I turned around, completely ignoring his snickers, and stalked right back out the door. I stormed over to my desk and picked up my phone, quickly punching in Alice's number.

"Hello?" her chipper voice instantly began to calm me.

"Alice," I said, trying my hardest not to crush the tiny cell I held within my hand, "your brother is a complete and total jerk."

Sounding as cheerful as ever, she happily replied, "I know, right?"

**ASADSFADS ASADSFADS ASADSFADS**

"Here," Alice said kindly, seating me gently on the couch. "I fixed you a bath."

I managed to smile weakly at her. "Thank you, Alice." Her clarvoyancy could really come in handy.

The black-haired pixie just grinned. "I know you had a really tough day today—what else could I expect since you're working for my idiot brother?"

I shrugged. "You'd think that he would have gotten over me calling him a jerk."

"You'd think you would have gotten over him not sharing his umbrella."

I frowned. "Well, he was pretty rude, Alice—that's the only reason I called him a jerk in the first place. And then his actions today…oh my God, it was horrible."

She nodded sympathetically. "Yeah, that pencil incident was kind of out of line."

"But that wasn't all!" I flung my hands over my head and sighed. "The rest of the day he had me running around like I was his errand dog or something. 'Get me coffee, get me the newspaper—get me wheat flakes.' And everything I got him, he just distributed among the offices. He said it was something 'to prove his goodwill.' As if he has any—ha!"

Alice's eyes widened. "You feel pretty strongly about this, don't you?"

I rolled my eyes. "Of course. How can I not with the way he's treated me? He's despicable. I don't see how you two are even related."

She plopped down next to me and rubbed my shoulders comfortingly. "Remember, we're estranged. I hardly talk to him." I was so angry that I hardly realized what a touchy subject I had brought up—she never talked about her "separation" with her family. The most I knew was that _something_ had happened between her and her brothers, and she had up and left to start her own life. But I was too irate to notice.

"I can understand that," I snorted. "Who would want to talk to him with the way he acts?"

Now her tone was stern. "He wasn't always like that, Bella. He used to be a pretty nice guy. But now…he's just bitter."

I laughed. "I'm pretty bitter, too—how am I supposed to survive a month with him? I need that pay raise, Alice…I need to get money for law school. I could barely make it through college when I worked all the time, but now I need to raise enough money in a year…and it's going to be nearly impossible for me not to get fired."

Alice giggled.

I glared. "What's your problem?"

She continued to laugh. "Well, at least you're not going to get fired for the same reason as the rest of the secretaries. Actually, kind of the opposite."

I smiled. "Yeah, I'll be booted for hating him, not loving him."

"Knowing my brother, that'll be a shock. He's used to people falling all over him. It comes from a lifetime of having a dangerous combination of power and looks…"

"I could say the same for you," I teased, poking her in the stomach, "you're pretty tiny, but you sure pack a punch."

"That reminds me—I know you lied to get out of that shopping trip last week, Bella…'bonding time with the laundry'—please, how lame can you get?" Her eyes were now shining with amusement. Mine, on the other hand, were wide with fear.

"Uh, I can explain…"

"No need." She held up her hand. "I'll just schedule one for this weekend. And you'd better be there…" her tone was menacing, "…or you'll be sorry."

I gulped. "Sure, Alice. Whatever you say."

She beamed. "That's what I thought. Now, let's get you a foot massage, and then get everything ready for tomorrow."

I groaned. "Oh, God, Alice, I can't even think about tomorrow without feeling sick."

She patted my back. "You'll get over it within a week. Come on—time to get you relaxed." She dragged me up and over to the bathroom, exclaiming, "I got some really nice smelling soap from Bath and Body works…it wasn't exactly cheap, but, you know, a smell is a smell."

She suddenly stopped short as the piercing ring of the telephone cut through the air. I frowned. "Probably Jessica calling to gloat about how her job is so easy compared to mine, and pays better. Lord knows she did that all day today."

Alice just smiled. "Well, whenever you're off the phone, come back, and I'll have everything ready."

"Thanks, Alice," I said gratefully, "I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Probably be a fashion disaster."

I rolled my eyes and skipped over to the phone, picking it up with a cheerful, "Hey! It's Bella Swan speaking on behalf of myself and my flat mate…how can I help you?"

"Why, Bella, what a pleasantly professional greeting."

I growled. It was that smooth-talking, non-umbrella-sharer, come to pester me again. "What do you want, Mr. Cullen?" I said as politely as I could, though I'm sure it still sounded pretty rude.

"Keep that temper in check, Bella, or I'll have to think up some new ways to keep you occupied." The insinuations in his tone were obvious.

Of course, this simply made me become angrier. "Only my friends call me Bella," I snapped, instantly clapping a hand over my mouth. Oh, shoot, I was in for it now—I was going to be fired over the phone. Why couldn't I keep my big mouth shut?

He was silent for a moment before he said, "Then I guess we're friends, _Bella_."

I had to bite my lip not to give a searing retort.

"Anyways," he said, clearly enjoying himself, "I need you to come in at three tomorrow morning."

My mouth hung open. "What?" I croaked. "Three A.M.?" Did he not know that it took me two hours to get there in the first place? The subway was in no way a safe place to be in at one in the morning.

He sounded so smug that I wanted to murder him. "Yes, I believe that is what I said. So I'll expect you there bright and early. And dry." He hung up with a laugh.

I slammed the phone down onto the receiver, screaming, "Damn it!"

Alice immediately came rushing over to me, looking worried. "Oh, what happened, Bella? Was it Tyler Crowley again?"

I shook my head. No, it had not been my crazy, stalker ex-boyfriend. Actually, it was my crazy, unbelievably annoying, "I-wish-he-would-drop-dead" boss. "No," I muttered. "Just your brother. He wants me there by three."

"Oh." Her face brightened. "Well, that's an improvement, isn't it?"

"No, Alice—three A.M.."

"Oh." She suddenly looked murderous. "I know exactly what he's doing—that idiot! Trying to scare you off. Who does he think he is?"

I sighed. "I just think that I'm going to stay home tomorrow, call in sick or something. I really don't want to be at the subway at one in the morning. I mean, come on."

She glared at me, and suddenly seemed to increase in size. Before long, I felt that her comparatively small four foot eleven stature was towering over my five foot four. "Bella," she growled, "you are not going to give in! Don't you see what he's doing? He's trying to push you over the edge! Do not fall off that edge, do you understand me? Do not!" She jabbed me hard in the arm for good measure.

"Okay," I squeaked, rubbing my arm. "Okay. Fine. But promise you'll come with me? I really don't want to go alone."

"Absolutely not. I'm not going anywhere near my brother and the rest of the family."

"But Alice…" I whined. "It's so scary in the subway when it's so early…" I started to pout, hoping she would give in.

"Bella…" she still looked mad, but I could tell that her resolve was weakening.

"Please?" I used my trademark puppy-dog eyes, just to make sure.

She sighed. "Alright, fine. But I leave the place as soon as I want to, understand?"

I nodded, grinning crazily. At least I wouldn't have to face Edward alone.

**ASADSFADS ASADSFADS ASADSFADS**

"It's going to be okay, Alice. Don't worry. We'll be fine."

"Fine?" she snapped, "Fine? I can't believe you got me to go along with this!"

I shrugged. "What can I say? I'm persuasive."

She simply glared at me, tapping her foot impatiently against the floor of the elevator.

I gave her a small smile, hoping that she would calm down. "Come on, Alice, it's not that bad. You can leave as soon as you want."

She sighed. "I just really don't want to be here, Bella. We haven't spoken in ages."

"Well, at least they won't have forgotten you. That would be impossible."

She laughed. "Yes, I suppose so. They'll be sure to remember all of the times I beat them in their arguments. They always thought I would be the one to become a lawyer."

I giggled. "Yeah, but look at you, a fashion designer! You've got your own line coming out this spring, and it's sure to be a success."

She shrugged, though I could tell she was pleased. "It is kind of trendy, isn't it?"

"Are you joking? It's amazing. Everyone's going to love it."

She bit her lip and bounced up and down on the ball of her foot, smiling, her close-cropped black hair lifting up and down. "You think so?"

"I know so," I said. This apparently reassured her, because she immediately ceased her one-foot jig. "Get ready," I said, grabbing her hand and giving it a light squeeze. She gave me a wan smile as the elevator halted, the number 20 lighting up.

"Here goes nothing," she whispered as the doors opened. I let her hand drop and held my arms stiffly at my sides. I could do this. And I had Alice—she'd keep me in check.

We walked in silence over to the front desk. I was pleased to see that Jessica was also here exceptionally early, and that, unlike me, she had not ingested enough caffeine. Her head was currently resting on her desk, a little puddle of drool pooling outside of her opened lips.

"Edward…" she moaned, "I love you too, baby…"

I had to put my fist in my mouth to keep from laughing.

Alice winked at me as she said, "Just another reason to get a phone with a camera, Bella. Maybe you will once you get a raise."

I just shook my head and power-walked away—there was no way I was going to wake Jessica up with my giggles and ruin that priceless moment. Besides, she was apparently having very pleasant dreams about her employer. If it had been me, I would have been having nightmares…but I'm sure Jessica was enjoying herself.

I flung open the door to the Cullen Wing and hurled myself onto the single black couch in the room. I immediately succumbed to my laughter. Soon enough, Alice waltzed in and joined me.

I could only imagine how ridiculous we must have looked to Edward when he finally walked in.

I had been burying my head in the black leather, shaking with laughter, when suddenly Alice's bell-like chuckles had ceased. I lifted my head, ready to ask her what was wrong, when I laid eyes on Edward. There was some justice in the world, at least, because he looked just as shocked to see us as we were to see him. I had expected him to have arrived at least an hour late and then say, "Oops…I must have told you the wrong time. Sorry." Instead, he was prompt.

But my God, the man had awful timing.

"Mr. Cullen," I said politely, trying to disregard the fact that he was gaping at us. "Is something wrong?"

He immediately shifted into suave mode. "Of course not, Bella. I simply don't remember telling you that you could bring…a visitor."

"Visitor?" Alice was immediately on her feet, her tiny fists balled up as she shouted at him. "Is that all you have to say to me? After two years, all you can do is not even look at me and say, cool as a cucumber, 'she's a visitor'? Don't you have any kind of family honor?" My eyes widened—I hadn't expected that she would be so easily provoked. And I thought it took only a little to get me riled up…

It was interesting, to say the least, that Edward went from being composed in one second to his eyes alight with anger the next. It was astonishing how much the two looked alike when they were so mad at one another. "Family honor? Interesting choice of words…coming from you."

I blinked. I hadn't expected him to sound so vicious. "Oh, please!" she cried. "Like you know the meaning of the phrase!"

He pursed his lips, attempting to regain his composure, and simply said, "Why are you here, Alice? Come to torment your family with the fact that you have the oddest urge to hate us for no apparent reason?"

That made me angry—he hardly knew Alice anymore, and so had no reason to judge her. It was just like him assuming that I had only asked to share his umbrella so I could get close to him…it made my blood boil, and probably was what influenced my next actions. I jumped up and said, "That's unfair. I'm sure that Alice has a multitude of reasons to hate you—I certainly have enough."

The silence was deafening. I immediately dropped my head and mumbled a quiet, "Sorry." I really had to learn how to keep my mouth shut. I didn't doubt that he was going to fire me now…I had basically told him to his face that I hated him. How much more tactless could I be?

Edward's voice was monotonous. "I'm going to have to ask your friend to leave, Miss Swan. I'd like to see you in my office in ten minutes."

I took in a deep breath as he strode purposefully out of the room. It was clear that he didn't want to be here.

Alice was breathing heavily next to me, and said quietly and with some effort, "I'm sorry, Bella. I shouldn't have reacted to him. It was stupid."

"No, Alice, I was stupid. It has nothing to do with you. You can stay, or go, if you want…whichever. I don't care." I wasn't about to tell her that I didn't think I could survive if she left.

She sighed heavily. "Look, Bella, I'm really sorry, but I don't think I can stand being here. This environment isn't exactly conducive to calming me."

I smiled weakly. "Kay. Just, head back out. You know the way."

"Thanks, Bella. This means a lot to me." She beamed. "I'll be back at our flat when you get home. Call me if you need anything."

I nodded. "I'll probably just have a list of complaints. You know, the usual."

The closer she got to the door, the happier she looked. I was glad for her—at least someone was cheerful. I, personally, didn't see how I would live through the meeting Edward had set up. I was now measuring my job's life expectancy in mere minutes, not months. And all because I had never bought a stupid umbrella.

**ASADSFADS ASADSFADS ASADSFADS**

He was sitting quietly at his desk when I entered, almost passively. But just because you were passive didn't mean you weren't aggressive…I actually expected him to have a lot of pent-up anger stored inside of him now that he had just seen his sister for the first time in two years. And it hadn't exactly been the pleasantest of meetings.

"Sit," he commanded. I had no choice but to obey, reluctantly placing myself in a black chair that stood ominously in the center of the room. Was it just me, or did this feel like a cross-examination?

I folded my hands in my lap and started fidgeting with my fingers. Maybe the more they moved the less my mouth would have to.

"Do you know why you're here?" His voice was cold and clinical, like a scientist. There was no emotion.

I decided to play dumb. "What do you mean, why am I here? In this room specifically, or working for you?"

"Why don't you explain both, Bella?"

"I'd be happy to." I remained silent.

He looked at me expectantly, and for the first time showed some feeling—frustration. "Go on."

I smirked—I could deal with frustration, though numbness was beyond me. "I'm here, working for you, so that I can get enough money to pay my way through law school."

He looked slightly surprised. "That's a lot of money to raise."

I shrugged. "Not if I work hard enough, and for the right people."

He raised one elegant eyebrow. "That's a lofty goal."

"I have great expectations. What can I say, I'm a natural follower of Dickens."

He looked as if he was about to respond, when suddenly he pursed his lips. "You're trying to distract me."

I blinked at him innocently. "I'm doing nothing of the kind."

He glared at me. "Of course not. Remind me the next time I try and talk to you that you're slippery as a snake."

I tilted my head to the side and said as sweetly as possible, "Takes one to know one." I knew it was a stupid and rude thing to say, but, since I was losing my job anyways, who cared?

He smiled. "Touché."

I continued, hoping to wipe that smirk off his face. "I wouldn't want to fluster you at all, though. Please, tell me if I am." I once more mentally reprimanded myself for being sarcastic to my boss, but really…it was so hard not to when he was sniggering at me like that. He thought this was a game.

He stood up and walked over to the edge of the office, staring out the window with his hands folded behind his back. "And why are you in this room?"

"I expect that, from the set up of things," I gestured to the fact that I was seated in a single chair in the center of the room, "you're trying to interrogate me."

"Wrong," he said quietly, turning to face me. "I'm here to tell you the rules. And please, don't get angry in the middle and call me a jerk."

I scowled. Why did he keep referring to the umbrella incident?

He gave an arrogant smile. "First rule—our relationship. Merely professional."

"That's what it's been like all along," I couldn't help saying.

"No," he shook his head. "It hasn't. I'll admit, I probably should have been…more polite to you yesterday morning."

"So you admit that you should have shared your umbrella?"

He pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger and let out a low, whistling sigh. "Please, let's drop the subject."

"No." I knew that I was being immature, but I couldn't help it. I crossed my arms and pouted. "I want your apology. I want it for all of yesterday. For how you ordered me around like your slave, and for how you were a complete jerk."

"Bella, what did I say about name-calling?"

I glowered and stated, "I call 'em like I see 'em."

He sighed and squinted his eyes at me. For a moment, I was lost in his stare—his orbs were just so green, and his hair was so pretty when it casually fell in front of his eyes…but then I remembered exactly why he was squinting at me, and that stopped me cold. He had yet to apologize.

"I should have acted more cordially towards you. But forgive me for believing that you were just another one of those women. And whose to say that you aren't one now?"

I gasped. That was possibly the worst apology I had ever heard. I stood up and practically ran to him, jabbing his chest with my finger. I hadn't noticed it before, but he was apparently very muscular…that little poke had hurt. "One," I snapped, "you shouldn't make assumptions about yourself just because most women happen to find you very attractive. That doesn't mean _all_ women find you very attractive—I happen to include myself in that apparently small category. So don't ever think for one moment that I might even remotely like you…I don't see how most people have overlooked your self-centered, arrogant, pig-headedness before, but I see it clear as crystal. Got it?"

For once I didn't immediately berate myself for mouthing off. I was just so angry—it was disgusting the way he thought about himself.

"Oh, really?" he didn't look anything except for amused. "I usually hear that description reserved for Rosalie, not me."

I jabbed him again for not taking me seriously.

"But," he gently grabbed my offending hand, holding it out to my side. His gaze never left my face. "I'm sure that I could convince you to become…romantically involved with me, should I wish for you to do so. It wouldn't be terribly hard."

His face swam closer and closer to mine as my senses went into overload. Where did he get his cologne? He smelled so good…and he looked so good, too. It wouldn't hurt if we got a little closer, now would it? But as he started to drag my wrist towards him, which inevitably brought the rest of my body along with it, I realized what exactly was happening. So I did the only thing I could do—I defended myself.

I raised my left hand and gave his face a resounding slap. His hand immediately released mine, and reached up to tenderly rub his jaw. He was glaring at me now. I had to say, it was an improvement to trying to seduce me.

"Ow," he said, his eyes still narrowed.

"Serves you right," I said viciously. "Who's coming on to whom now?"

He massaged his chin. "We'll see. And you may leave. You're excused from my office for the remainder of the day."

"With pleasure," I said, whirling around and storming towards the door. It would have made an exceptionally dramatic exit…except I accidentally tripped on the interrogation chair. I blushed profusely as someone—I could only assume it was Edward—gently lifted me off of the floor and placed me on my feet. I quickly brushed myself off with as much dignity as I could muster, and slunk out of the room, his quiet chuckles following me the entire way.

**A/N: I didn't particularly feel like ending with a cliffhanger for the first chapter. Next chapter, though…well, you'll just have to see. It does involve Emmett, though, and a costume…but not the costume you would expect.**

**Anyways, it would be amazing if I could get some reviews before I updated…I really want to know your opinions. So, review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I'm so happy that all of you guys reviewed! It would be even doubly awesome if you kept reviewing…all of your comments have made for a really spiffy week on my part. **

**Also, a note on this chapter—it's basically one giant plot device. I hope that it's an enjoyable plot device, but a plot device nonetheless. I am going to basically be using everything in it for reference points and such in chapters four and five. So, if it's kind of strange, bear with me. It will all make sense in the long run. **

**Disclaimer: Do I have to do this every time? Well, I don't own Twilight or its characters, and I have no hopes of ever doing so. So that's that. **

**And, again, this will all be in Bella POV. But if you catch any mistakes or what not, please review! Constructive criticism and just general comments are greatly appreciated. **

**Anyways, onwards and upwards!**

**Chapter 2**

_Rrring. Rrring. Rrring._

Alice looked at me and whispered, "Do you think we should take the phone off the hook?"

I violently shook my head and went back to staring at the phone, which had been spasmodically vibrating for the past three hours.

"Wait for it…" Alice started counting down on her fingers. Three, two, one…

"_Hey, this is the flat of Isabella Swan and Alice Cullen. If you have a message, please leave it after the beep and we'll get back to you as soon as possible. Unless, of course, this is Jasper, in which case, you have our cell phone numbers, so why are you calling here?"_ BEEP.

I shuddered as the annoying voice that had been leaving messages for the past three hours started to speak. "Bella? Bella? Are you going to forgive me? I love you. You know that, right? I would never intentionally hurt you. It was just a one-time thing! Lauren doesn't mean anything to me, you've always been the one for me! Bella? Bella? Are you there?" Cue the mild cursing.

I sighed and buried my head in a pillow. "Oh my God, Alice. He won't leave me alone."

"What?" she said hoarsely, "Your voice is muffled."

I picked my head up and gazed bleakly at her. "Why won't Tyler leave me alone?"

She shrugged. "I guess he was more into you than you thought."

"Urgh!" I flopped back down onto the couch. "You would think that me telling him for the past two years, 'we're over' would knock some sense into him."

Alice gave a nervous sort of giggle. "Apparently not." She was silent, and then, "Do you think he'll come to our flat? Because, no offense, but I really don't want him hanging around here at night stalking you. It would be…"

"…Creepy." I finished her sentence for her.

"Yeah." She nodded.

"Look," I said tiredly, waving an arm half-heartedly in the air, "the next time he calls, I'll pick up and set him straight. And then maybe he'll leave us alone."

"Or," Alice helpfully offered, "he might just get a renewed interest."

I lifted my head up so that I could glare at her. "Thanks for reminding me."

She yawned. "Just tell him to wait until morning, okay? It's already midnight, and I'm really tired since we stayed up all last night…but if the phone's always ringing…"

"We could put duct tape over it to muffle it," I suggested.

"No, that might hurt the machine."

"Actually—" I was about to debate the issue with her when the phone rang again. I glanced at it and took a deep breath. "Now or never, right?"

Alice just clapped her hands over her ears and said, "Do it already."

I obliged her and picked up the phone. "Tyler?" I said, trying to sound as angry as possible for a person who was coming down from a caffeine-high and still awake at twelve A.M. after an incredibly long day at work. "Do you know how annoying you are being right now? Do you? We broke up years ago. _Years ago_. And now you are phone stalking me. Phone stalking me! Don't you have something better to fill your time with, like screwing girls at fraternity parties?"

There was silence at the other end of the line.

I sighed. "Look, Tyler, what we had was great, but I am getting really uncomfortable. I think I'm going to get a restraining order if you keep this up…"

Suddenly, a deep, handsome voice spoke at the other end of the line. "Hello?" he said cautiously.

"Uh, who is this?" I said curiously. Maybe it was one of Tyler's cronies.

"Ah, this is Emmett. Emmett Cullen."

"Oh," I squeaked, almost dropping the phone. "Oh. Well that's…different."

And then, to put the cherry on top of my sundae of embarrassment, he started laughing. I could hear him on the other end of the line, saying, "Oh…oh Edward, oh Edward—do you know what your girlfriend just said?" I heard a muffled "She's not my girlfriend!" followed by Emmett chuckling, "Yeah, whatever—but did you know she's being phone-stalked?" Pause. "I know, right?" Pause. "Hey, what are you—" suddenly his voice was coming through loud and clear again. He sounded out of breath. "Hey, this is Bella, right? Well, right now my brother…is…forcing…" he panted and said, "…he is forcing the phone out of…out of…" there was a dull thud, and a resounding "OUCH!" from a source that sounded suspiciously like Emmett.

"Bella?"

I rolled my eyes. Apparently, Edward had successfully taken the phone from Emmett. "Mr. Cullen, could you please hand the phone back to your brother? I believe he was trying to tell me something important."

He brushed my comment off. "No, no—nothing important, trust me. We'll deal with that later. But what's this I hear about someone stalking you via your telephone?" He sounded accusing now, as if I was in the wrong for not telling him of my predicament.

"Look," I said angrily, "it really is absolutely none of your business, so I'm just going to get Alice or something…"

"No! Bella, listen to me," he actually sounded pretty worried. Did my ears deceive me? "I can…help you with him, you know. I have connections. What's his name? I can get people to straighten him out."

I tried my best not to sound annoyed, though I didn't succeed. "Is it a habit of yours to interfere in other people's business?"

He was snapping now. "Well, I'm sorry if I'm concerned for my employee's welfare."

"Not for long," I corrected him. "I'm getting out of your firm as soon as I can, and going through law school."

"Oh. Right." He sounded vaguely unhappy. Probably upset that he would soon be losing his servant.

"Well," I yawned, "it's my bedtime, and I'm really very tired…so did you want to speak with Alice?"

"What?"

"Alice?" I reminded him, frustrated. "You know, your sister?"

"Oh, Alice."

"Well, aren't you going to talk to her?" Wasn't that the whole reason that Emmett had called?

"Oh. Yeah. Sure."

"Well, I'll give the phone to her," I said slowly and bitingly, hoping each word stung. He was really getting on my nerves—calling up specifically to speak to Alice and then acting as if she didn't exist. How was that for brotherly love?

"Hey, Alice!" I called, putting my hand over the receiving end. "Hey, Alice! Yoo-hoo! Telephone!"

She stomped over to me and rubbed her eyes, muttering groggily, "Is it Jasper?"

I shook my head and mouthed, "Your brother."

Her eyes widened. Then she asked suspiciously, "Which one?"

"Well," I said, trying to keep my voice low, "first it was Emmett, but then Edward stole the phone from him…"

She frowned. "Why would Edward do that?"

"Oh, something about Emmett mentioning the whole 'Tyler' dilemma," I said lightly, hoping she would drop the subject.

Her brow creased even further. "Wait, so…was he worried?"

I shrugged. "How am I supposed to know? He's your brother."

She just gave me a patronizing stare and stretched her hand out for the phone. I gave it to her and whispered hurriedly, "I'm heading off to bed. Wake me if you need anything."

She gave a curt nod and put the phone to her ear, saying in a very polite voice, though with an undercurrent of caution, "Hello?" There was about a minute of silence, and then she started babbling into the phone, her voice a furious whisper. I wondered what they were talking about, since I couldn't make out what they were saying…but decided I could ask Alice tomorrow. It wasn't as if she would keep it a secret—and besides, it probably wasn't that important anyways.

**ASADSFADS ASADSFADS ASADSFADS**

I slumped against my chair, leaning my head back and staring intently at the ceiling. I had re-scheduled his entire week. I had sorted all of his case files. I had called all of his clients, not to mention spent a half hour arguing with one of the bailiffs over the judge we wanted to preside over an upcoming trial, and between it all had to run back and forth fetching Edward food. It was just like it had been on my first day…except this time, Edward kept having me come into his office instead of out. I was there more often then I was at my desk—and I had yet to drink my daily dose of coffee.

All in all, I was in a pretty bad mood.

Then, of course, Jessica was the icing on the cake, sauntering in to me and saying, "I'm off to see _Edward_…hope you don't mind," and then flouncing through his door like she was about to be swept off her feet. Of course, when she came out three minutes later looking acutely disgruntled, it didn't seem as if she had gotten the reception she had desired. I would have laughed in her face, but I was too tired—Tyler had kept calling late into the night. At least I knew he was building up one heck of a phone bill.

Currently, Jessica was standing in front of me, hands on her hips, and glaring at me. What had I done this time? Everything I did seemed to annoy her. I think it was mostly the fact that I saw Edward more than her, but it seemed to also be something else…I didn't really care, as I believed I would figure it out soon enough—she was fairly transparent. And, likely as not, it was something extremely trivial and unimportant.

"The defense attorneys for the Black case are on their way over," she snapped, slamming some papers onto my desk. "You're supposed to make them at home and get them in for a conference with all the Cullens in the boardroom."

My eyes widened. I was confused—only Jessica ever went into the boardroom. "Why would they need me for that?"

She sniffed and put her nose in the air. "I have absolutely no idea." She then whirled around and stalked off. Well, it explained her seemingly irrational anger…she thought I was stealing her job. Ha! I didn't even want it.

But, as enjoyable as it was to see her so upset, it meant added work. I heaved a sigh and gathered up the documents, rapping lightly on Edward's door. "Come in," he called.

I walked in, internally speculating as to how his office had gone from pristine condition yesterday to looking as if it had been turned upside down today. Papers were scattered everywhere and coated the floor like a second carpet, while law book were stacked haphazardly in the clearest areas of the room—the places where you could actually glimpse the rug underneath. Burglars, perhaps, had done this? Or maybe a legion of his adoring fan girls…I didn't doubt that they could wreak mass havoc—Jessica was proof enough with the damage she did everyday.

"Do you want me to set up the boardroom now?" I asked, stifling a yawn. I was not about to show him weakness and let him know how tired I was…I would just suck it up.

He ignored my question and simply inquired, "Are you quite alright? You can go and lie down, I'll take care of setting up the conference for you."

I vehemently shook my head, vaguely wondering why _now_ of all times he decided to act like an actual human being. "No, I'm fine."

"Well, I know that your ex-boyfriend was calling you at the wee hours of the morning today. If you're tired, it would be understandable." So then why was he having me run around all day? Was he trying to get me even more tired?

I bit back another yawn. "And how…would you know that?" I covered my mouth with my hand, disregarding the fact that it probably looked very odd. I didn't care if he thought I was weird for randomly slapping my appendages over my mouth—I simply was not going to let him see me yawn.

He eyed me critically. "It wouldn't take someone of my mental capacities to figure it out."

I glared at him. There he went again being egotistical. "I'm going to set up," I said firmly, spinning around and completely prepared to walk off in a cloud of indignation at his arrogance…when I slipped on the papers beneath me and toppled to the ground.

"Bella!" instantly Edward was at my side, supporting my back with his arm. He sounded genuinely concerned. "Are you alright?"

I scowled. My nefarious clumsy streak always kicked in at the wrong moments. "Of course I'm alright," I huffed, "why wouldn't I be? I just fell, that's all."

He frowned at me. "Bella," he said sternly, "you could have been very seriously injured."

I snorted. "Please, it happens all the time."

He looked horrified. "Really?"

I nodded.

He then turned egotistical again. "Oh, so you're not just impacted by my presence, then?"

I frowned. That had had more than a hint of arrogance in it. "Yes," I said dryly, "it certainly is nauseating enough to make me swoon."

He grimaced. "Ah. So, I'm still a rogue to you, then?"

I shrugged. "You're my employer." I wasn't going to say anything more on the subject, or I would blurt out something that I would later regret. Like that he was an arrogant prick. But, these things happen.

He stared at me intently, his green eyes calculating, before saying, "Here, give me those."

"What?" I asked, slightly dazed. I had been a tad preoccupied with his eyes, I angrily and ashamedly admitted to myself. But they were just _so green_…and really, who could help physical attraction? Certainly there wasn't enough intellect and morality in him to sit comfortably with company in a tablespoon, so it shouldn't matter to me—there was no way I would ever become romantically involved with him. But I could enjoy the view while it lasted…

He smirked. "Give me the papers."

I stared at him, not fully comprehending his meaning. Then it clicked. "Oh, no!" I said, clutching them even tighter against my chest. "This is my job, and I'm perfectly qualified to do it."

He remained stubborn and reached out a hand for the papers. "I am your boss, Bella. Give them to me now."

I shook my head obstinately, pressing my fingernails into the paper. I was probably leaving indentations…but I didn't care. I wasn't letting him take my work—he was probably trying to butter me up so he could un-guiltily send me to Walmart to fetch him some wheat flakes. Arrogant swine.

"Bella," he said, frowning. I merely shook my head. "Bella, please?" he pleaded, turning the full force of his eyes on me. It took every ounce of my willpower to actually concentrate on what he was saying. But honestly, when he was looking at me like that…giving him the papers didn't seem like such a bad idea.

"N…no," I said, my breathiness making my annoyance sound diluted.

He smirked. "Oh really, now? Would you care for me to ask again?"

I rolled my eyes and stalked out the door, not bothering with a response.

**ASADSFADS ASADSFADS ASADSFADS**

I had never known before how many automatic reflexes I possessed. For the past three days, I had been fighting my natural instincts to smack Jessica, or at least give her a good tongue-lashing…and now they were coming back at me, full-force. I desperately wanted to give her a good thumping for being so...attentive to Edward's needs. It was painful to my eyes to watch her flaunt herself in front of him—it was disgusting. I almost wished she would just end the torment and do something completely outrageous so he would be obligated to put her in her place. Or at least drag him into some supply closet in the nether regions of the building and get both of them out of my way. But, of course, that didn't happen.

"Mr. Cullen?" she said, batting her eyelashes at him as if she thought it would somehow charm him to his knees. To me it looked as if she had a muscle twitch.

"Yes?" he said, sounding faintly annoyed. I wanted to rub his obvious disinterest in her face—maybe it would get her to just leave already—but, again, having to be professional came back to bite me in the butt.

"Do you need any help?" she said, flipping her hair and leaning slightly to the side on one hip. Her stance screamed out her intentions, though her tone was completely professional. I had to admit, she flirted well…though what she wanted was still completely obvious except to the exceptionally unobservant onlooker. I waited to see what his reaction would be.

"No, thank you," he said firmly. "You can return to the front desk, now—make sure that the lawyers are brought in."

She looked displeased, though the only evidence of this was how her rouged lips turned slightly downwards. "Oh, Mr. Cullen," she said gravely, "I was specifically instructed by Victoria to help you out. I'm sure your secretary," it didn't escape my notice that she pointedly ignored the fact that I was with her and privy to the conversation, "can handle the rest of the set up. Such as getting your brothers and such."

"One brother, one sister-in-law," Edward automatically corrected, his gaze fixed upon the ceiling. "They have their own secretaries."

Jessica shook her head. "Actually, they let them get off early today. They said they wanted some time to discuss the case together."

Edward noticeably blanched and tugged at his collar nervously. This puzzled me—what about her statement had made him so obviously uncomfortable? "Ah, yes," he said, "that. Well, I suppose then that you could…" Oh, I understood now—he was probably jealous of Emmett and Rosalie's relationship…that was why he was so uncomfortable.

"Oh, no, Mr. Cullen," I said, placing my hand lightly on his shoulder. He looked down at my hand in shock, not even attending to my words. I had only meant it as a gesture of goodwill so that he would feel peaceable enough to let me go without some snide remark. "I'll go get them. I'll be back immediately."

"Er, what?" he was still gazing at my arm as if it were some kind of extra-terrestrial.

"I'm going to go get your brother and sister. Right now." I tried my best not to sound annoyed that he wasn't paying attention, but I expected him to jump at the chance to get rid of me—after all, he had been having me run around all day today. This was pretty minor in comparison.

"Actually," he said frowning, "I would prefer it if—"

But I had already turned around and marched off. If he felt particularly indecisive at the moment, I knew that he would change his mind shortly and I would end up having to go and get them anyways. Really, I was saving us both a lot of trouble. And, I guess, finding his fellow lawyers would be relatively easy in comparison to hunting through Walmart to find wheat flakes…a task which I had yet to forgive him for making me do.

I strode confidently through the Cullen Wing door, and then wondered which of the three concealed doors I should take. I giggled—it was like I was in a maze. Of course, I checked off Edward's door—after all, why would his family partners be in there?—and decided to check Emmett's office first. I knew him slightly better than Rosalie, if only because he had spoken to me on the phone. And he had seemed good-natured, so I probably wasn't going to walk in on someone who was completely rude, unlike other pig-headed men I could name…

I knocked lightly on his door before walking in. Of course, there was Laurent's desk, neat as a pin, which was the result from his being the single male secretary on the entire floor. His co-workers never let him forget it, either. Emmett, in fact, had stated numerous times that he would have preferred to have a female working for him, but had ended up with a man simply because his wife and partner, Rosalie, had expressly forbidden him from having a woman secretary. This resulted in Laurent having the constant appearance of being disgruntled, something I found to be understandable. I would have been just as unhappy if people had been treating me in the same way…it also meant that he gained an unquenchable thirst to prove himself to his employers, and tried to do so by being the best secretary it was possible to be. Unfortunately, no one's opinions of him changed, except that he was a neat-nick. My obvious sympathy for his predicament had led to a cementing friendship between us, for which I was grateful. He was a fairly amiable person.

I stepped past the desk and knocked on the door. There was no answer, so I called out, "Mr. Cullen? It's Miss Swan, Edward's secretary, and you are needed in the board room immediately." Again, silence. "Hello? Mr. Cullen?"

I waited by the door for a full two minutes before I decided that I should go in. I pushed the door open, and quietly stepped inside. I noticed that it was exactly as messy as Edward's room, if not slightly messier. And there were odd gadgets and doo-dads lying around that seemed as if they served no purpose other than to provide an amusing spectacle for a bored eye.

This left me one option—if they weren't in here, then they had to be in Rosalie's room. Ah, yes, Jessica had mentioned that they were discussing the case together, so naturally they would be together. That made sense. They were probably looking the documents over even as I stood there.

I dashed out the door and hurried to Rosalie's office, not even bothering to knock on the first door—it was just Angela's desk, so I knew that if I didn't announce myself before entering, no one would mind. I quickly ran up to the next door, rapping it loudly with my knuckles and calling, "Mr. Cullen? Mrs. Cullen? This is Miss Swan, Edward's secretary. You are needed immediately in the boardroom."

I heard a crash from within the room, and some swearing.

"Hello?" I heard a woman gasping out the word from inside. It sounded as if she was doubled over in laughter…or possibly pain.

"Are you alright?" I called nervously. Was somebody injured? If so, what should I do?

"Oh, we're alright…" the woman sounded as if she found something very funny with the whole situation. Her irrational humor frustrated me. What was so hilarious?

"Are you sure?"

"Perfectly," I heard a man grumble, and I assumed that it was Emmett. The woman snickered—that had to be Rosalie.

"You can come inside," she shouted. "In fact, please do."

I shrugged and turned down the knob, just as the man shrieked, "No! No! Don't come in, whatever you do, don't come in!" But by that time I had already opened the door.

I gasped. "Um, Mr. Cullen?" I squeaked.

Lying before me on the floor was a big, bulky man with curly brown hair and glaring brown eyes. He looked like he had some very impressive muscles…maybe he lifted weights?...and he was very handsome—the attractive gene apparently held true for all of the Cullens. But despite the positives about his physical appearance, they were instantly negated by what he was wearing.

"I know, right? A carrot suit!" the woman I had heard before was giggling insanely, saying, "Oh, I wish I had a camera."

"It's not that funny," he muttered, attempting to cross him arms but prohibited by the costume.

The woman who was propped up on the desk clutching her sides I took to be Rosalie—even though she was only related to Emmett through marriage, she carried the Cullen beauty gene. Maybe being married to one of the Cullens just naturally made you gorgeous. She had long blonde hair that tumbled down her back, and wide blue eyes that made you immediately suspicious that she was wearing contacts. However, I assumed her electric cerulean orbs weren't fake—she looked like a woman who would flaunt every natural part of her, and not try to falsify her beauty…it's not like she would need to, anyways.

I then noticed two other costumes propped up in the corner of the room—one looked like a tiger costume—in fact, possibly Tigger from Winnie-the-Pooh. The other was a shapeless, bulky gray blob.

"Um…why are you in a carrot suit?" the question popped out of my mouth before I could stop myself. I honestly didn't mean to pry, but really—who dressed-up as vegetation when they were working? I had every right to be curious.

"I," Emmett said proudly, "am a vegetable."

Rosalie snickered. "That's absolutely right."

He scowled. "No, I mean I am donned in a vegetable suit."

I nodded. "I can see that."

His frown deepened. "You know what? I don't think I want to be with people who are so judgmental." He attempted to stand up, but failed miserably, only succeeding in rocking back and forth with his arms flailing in the air.

I slapped a hand over my mouth to hold back my laughter. Fortunately, Rosalie did enough laughing for the both of us. "You see," she said to me, still chuckling, "we were playing 'Animal, Vegetable, or Mineral?' to help us…study. And when you knocked, Emmett here fell over." She gently prodded him with her foot, which only made him tilt further back and forth.

"You were playing…a game?" I said disbelievingly. "Isn't that a bit…well…"

"Childish?" Rosalie finished, still sniggering.

I bobbed my head in assent.

"Actually," Emmett piped up from below, "it was very mature."

I furrowed my brow, confused. "How could it be—oh. Oh, I see."

Rosalie grinned wickedly, while Emmett gave a polite and embarrassed cough. I had to say, however, that his wife was taking me walking in on their little "activity" quite calmly…though that might have been because of the fact that she had not been caught on the floor in a carrot suit. Really, compared to that, who wouldn't be confident?

"So, um…" I scratched my head and studied a random file-folder that lay in the far corner of the room. "You're wanted for a conference with the lawyers on the Black case…now…and I'll just be on my way…"

Rosalie beamed at me. "Thank you so much for notifying us. We'll be there in ten minutes…after I help Emmett out of his costume." At this she hopped down from her perch on the desk and walked casually over to her husband, bending over to pat him lightly on his orange-felt covered head. "Oh, darling," she sighed, "you always fall down at the worst moments, don't you?"

He grimaced.

I quietly backed out of the room, hastily retreating to the safety of Angela's desk. I decided that I would keep this little meeting a secret from Edward. I had an inkling that he might not take the carrot suit fiasco quite so calmly as Rosalie.

**ASADSFADS ASADSFADS ASADSFADS**

I took one satisfying gulp of my cappuccino before sighing in relief. I had been worried that I wouldn't get my caffeine for the day…luckily, Edward had given me a break while he was in his conference. Of course, it had required a serious amount of wheedling on my part—he seemed reluctant to have me leave the office—but I managed to convince him. That led up to me sitting in the small reception room right next to the Cullen Wing, sipping my drink happily. It would have been a truly perfect moment if I had had Alice with me…there were so many things I wanted to tell her. For instance, I was fairly sure that finding out Emmett had been in a carrot costume wouldn't come as a complete surprise to her. I think she actually would have found it rather normal compared to what he usually did.

I rested my feet on the chair next to me, getting something good out of the solitude. If anyone had been here with me, save Alice, I wouldn't have been able to put my shoes on the furniture—it would "ruin the décor" or some other such nonsense. Really, what damage could high heels do? If you weren't walking in them, that is.

Minutes passed as I relaxed, checking my watch every so often to see how long they had been occupied. As of now it had been…twenty minutes since they had disappeared into the boardroom, and ten since I had gotten my coffee. Edward had said it would probably only be a half hour, and that I should be ready and waiting to say a farewell to our guests when they chose to depart.

I stiffly got up, tossing my empty coffee cup into a trashcan, and walked out the door. However, as soon as I was in the hallway, I heard a crunching sound beneath my feet. I immediately fell forward onto my face—there was my nefarious clumsy streak again, coming back to haunt me.

"Owww…" I rolled over onto my back and sat up, bringing my foot around into my lap. I was fully prepared to rub my aching ankle back to feeling well, only to discover that the crunching sound I had heard had been my heel breaking. So that was why I had fallen. "Oh, crap." I slipped off both of my shoes, just to make sure that I didn't break the other one, and shakily stood up, gripping the wall for support.

That was when I heard the laughter behind me. I quickly whirled around, completely forgetting my shoes predicament. There stood a tall, handsome man—not in Edward's league, of course, but still very good-looking. He was chuckling to himself, and, having noticed my furious gaze, stuck out his hand.

"I'm Mike Newton," he said smoothly, a grin still on his lips.

"Bella Swan," I said, taking his hand and shaking it once before dropping it. I wasn't quite happy that he had been laughing at me.

"Here," he said, "let me take those for you."

I narrowed my eyes. "I'm fine. But what are you doing here? I've never seen you before."

He casually ran a hand through his messy blond hair, his blue eyes boring into my brown ones. "I'm a lawyer for the Black case. I came out to get some water…I didn't expect to find a beautiful woman in need of some help. Though it is a definitely preferable situation."

I blushed at his compliment, but still felt snappy. "I don't need any help," I said, frowning.

He smiled. "Of course not. But I'd feel a lot better if I was allowed to escort the lovely young lady back to her office."

I put my hands on my hips, trying to ignore the patent leather shoes digging into my skin. "How did you know I work here?"

"That's for me to know, and you to find out," he said enigmatically. He then extended his arm.

I simply raised an eyebrow. "What's that for?"

"To take you to your office."

I frowned, but took it anyways.

"Now," he said, "where is it that you do work?"

I decided to use his words against him. "That's for me to know, and you to find out."

He chuckled. "Alright, then, Miss…"

"Isabella Swan," I said, finally starting to warm up to this charming man. He really wasn't all that bad, even if he had laughed at me—it wasn't like he had been as rude as Edward was at our first meeting. He clearly didn't expect me to throw myself at him. "But please, call me Bella."

"Alright, Bella," he said happily. "Lead the way."

**ASADSFADS ASADSFADS ASADSFADS**

I reclined in my chair, laughing as Mike recounted yet another story of his childhood.

"And then," he said, leaning forward, "do you know what my grandpa did?"

I shook my head vigorously, my eyes wide and my mouth forming a huge smile. "What?"

"He looked at me and said, 'Well, what do you know? I guess it was here the whole time!'"

I clapped my hand over my mouth to suppress my howl of laughter. "That…" I gasped, "…is too funny!"

"Isn't it though? My grandpa always did the strangest things."

"Really? Oh, my grandfather does, too. He was making jam once, and he accidentally dropped his glasses in it. He spent three days looking for them, calling up all of his senior citizen friends and his recreation clubs—only to have my dad fish them out of one of the jam jars. He had even contemplated just giving the jam to my grand-dad and seeing if he would actually try and spread it on a piece of bread…knowing my grandfather, he would have done it."

Mike gave an appreciative chuckled. "I completely understand what you mean. My grandfather almost never misplaced things, though—to a nearly absurd degree—but that was only because he kept them in the oddest places. Do you know where he kept his books?"

I shook my head.

"The icebox! Can you believe it? He said, 'A book is a dish best served cold.' I always thought that he changed that phrase on purpose, but apparently he actually got books and revenge mixed-up—hence the freezing temperatures. The librarians always became so flustered when he returned his books and they were still melting! It puzzled them to no end."

I giggled. "Sounds like a great guy."

Mike snorted. "Yes, that is until you realize where he kept spare coins—he taped them to the foliage of one of those giant, frond-like plants with the huge green leaves," he splayed his hands to show exactly how huge, "and my mother always used to say, 'Money may not grow on trees, but it certainly grows on garden plants.'"

I laughed again. "Oh, I love my grand-dad to death."

"Me too—only, he's passed." Mike's grin faltered for a moment.

"Oh, Mike," I said soothingly, gently grasping his hands in mine. "I'm sorry."

"That's alright," he said, his voice falsely cheery. I gave him a sad sort of smile. My grandmother had died years ago, so I knew what it was like for a grandparent to pass away. And it seemed as if Mike had been very close to his grandfather.

It was only then that I noticed that we were leaning closer together. It was unintentional on my part—I only meant to come forward to clasp his hands, but he apparently took it as an advance from me. Our faces were only one foot apart now, and I didn't know what to do—did I reject him after that wonderful conversation we had just had? And besides, the memory of his grandfather must be fresh in his memory—would it be too terrible of me to lead him on now so as not to further wound him? Or was I supposed to push him away and put up a front? I hadn't dated in so long…I had almost forgotten what was acceptable and unacceptable on a first meeting. However, I was pretty sure that you weren't supposed to kiss someone you just met, let alone the defense attorney for the Black case (as he had gleefully told me, it was his first case, and, to double the fun, he was trying it with his good friend, Eric Yorkie—that was why he had known that he would not be missed in the boardroom if he came to have a conversation with me).

So, to kiss, or not to kiss? I didn't have time for the question, as Mike soon began to take action.

"Bella…" he disentangled his hands from mine, and brought them up to cup my face. He tilted my chin towards him, staring straight into my eyes. I found myself fighting the undeniable urge to squirm out of his grasp. But no, I had to remind myself, you've just brought up some unpleasant memories for him, and this is his first case…indulge him a little—it's not as if a kiss means much, does it?

"Bella," he said quietly, "Bella, I really like you."

I bit my lip, flushing slightly, before answering with, "I like you, too." It seemed true to me, at least. I did think he was a really nice guy. I just didn't feel any kind of real romantic interest in him. He didn't exactly ignite my passion—sure, he was good-looking, but not exactly my type. But I wasn't about to tell him that.

He smiled slightly, his fingers gently brushing a strand of hair back behind my ear. My skin didn't tingle where he touched me, but it did make me feel nervous. Was he even going to kiss me? Was he going to just hold me? Was he going to do anything? Would I be stuck wondering about this awkward situation for the rest of my life?

He slowly leaned forward, his face tilting slightly to the side. I kept my eyes opened, watching how his closed as soon as his mouth captured mine. It wasn't magical, but it certainly wasn't horrible. He was a good kisser, I decided, as his mouth slowly opened, his tongue trying to pry my lips apart. I was about to comply, too, when suddenly I heard a sound coming from my right side.

I pushed away from Mike, and, startled, glanced at the door which was now ajar. Framed in the entryway stood Edward, his emerald eyes wide and his mouth hanging open.

"Edward," I said hastily, "I can explain—"

He just shook his head and stared at the wall behind me, saying calmly, "I'll be in my office if you two need me." He strode across the room and slammed his door behind him.

I groaned. He had acted that exact same way when he saw that I had brought Alice with me to work on Tuesday…he had practically emotionally shut down. But now the problem was Mike, not his sister…somehow, I had a feeling that him being a guy made the situation a whole lot worse.

"Oh, Bella," Mike said, "I guess this is kind of a bad time, but…do you want to get dinner tonight?"

I dropped my head to my knees and sighed. "Mike, I don't know—I think my roommate has plans…and right now, I have to sort things out with Mr. Cullen."

"Well," Mike said, grimacing and crossing his arms, "I don't see why he should be so mad. It's not like you're his girlfriend or anything."

I grimaced—_thank God_. "I know." However, I wasn't all too keen on Mike's sudden protectiveness…it wasn't as if he was my boyfriend, either.

"Well, what's your number, then?"

"Mike," I said, slightly peeved, "I have a lot on my mind right now. Can you wait?"

He scowled. "Look, I don't know when I'll get to see you next. I just want to call you so I can see when we can meet again. Who knows if the Cullens'll invite me back? Judging from your boss's reaction, it won't be anytime soon. He'll probably prevent me from seeing you or something."

"Mike…I really doubt Edward would do something like that…" Yes, arrogant and pig-headed though he may have been, he wasn't about to restrict me from seeing people if I wanted to.

"Just write it down really fast, okay?"

"Fine," I muttered, grabbing a pen and quickly jotting down my number on a sticky-note. "Have fun with that."

"Thanks," he grinned at me. I noticed that he had some food between his teeth. I shuddered—I was glad I hadn't opened my mouth.

"Sure," I said wearily, getting up and practically shoving him out the door. He didn't seem like such a great guy anymore. A good-looking guy, sure, but not as great as I had thought. Who would react to my boss walking in on us like that? Though there was the fact that his grandpa had died…I felt bad for him in that respect.

But my real problem wasn't with Mike. Of course, it might be later in the evening when he would probably call me…but for now, it was Edward. Victoria had said I would be fired if I was involved in any office romances…so would kissing the defense attorney for the Black case count?

Probably.

**A/N: Hm. I wonder if that could be considered a cliffhanger? True, Edward's a tad emotionally unstable in this story—for reasons that will slowly unfold later on—and Bella's just a tad mean to him. But, of course, that's only because he's mean to her. Though what would happen if he got over himself? I wonder…and of course this all just adds to the tension. But would you consider it a cliffhanger? I don't know, you tell me. **

**Also, Laurent has become my new favorite character—you just gotta love a guy surrounded by sexist people in a sexist environment. Basically everyone's discriminating against him because he's male, but they completely ignore the fact that he's breaking the gender boundary in the secretarial workplace. Ah, well, he'll get his due in good time. **

**Anyways, here's a sneak preview summary of the next chapter—Alice decides that she needs to take Bella to a special somewhere, a place where they might even meet a certain someone…though this all depends on if Edward can get over the Mike incident, first. Mysterious, no? **

**So, if you want to figure out what happens next, review! It makes me happy and it makes me update…which are both good things. **

**Until next time!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Mmmm…this chapter is mostly, well, getting to know you fluff. I'm trying to show the main problems…and further the plot in the process. I'm not sure if it works quite as well as I would like, but still, I think it gets the main point across. **

**Concerning POV hopping—I'm fairly sure that, at least for the next couple of chapters, I will be staying resolutely within Bella's POV. Why is this, you might ask? Well, Bella is the only one who doesn't have the whole picture. If you got Edward's POV, suddenly all of the secrets and all of his little personality quirks would be uncovered, and the point of this story is to get Bella to uncover them herself…but I might switch POVs later on, you never know.**

**Disclaimer: Is this mandatory for every single chapter? Well, I'll say it just to be safe. I don't own the characters or Twilight…**

**On with chapter three! And please, **_**please **_**review. It makes me absurdly happy!**

**Chapter 3**

"Leave my office."

"But Edward…" I took a step towards him, only earning a glare in response.

"I said leave. And I'm Mr. Cullen to you."

"Look, I need to explain my actions."

He snarled the next words. "_I. Said. LEAVE._"

"Oh," I said mockingly, "and your name's Mr. Cullen to me, too, right?"

He merely growled in response, turning around to look out the window. He crossed his arms and stood there silently.

I sighed. "I'm not pretending that I didn't kiss Mike, Edward. And I'm not pretending that you don't have every right to be mad at me for having, I guess…an 'office romance', but really, it was a mistake. He just kind of…I felt bad for him, so…" I didn't know what to say. How could I express my feelings about Mike? Sure, he was cute, but now that I looked back, he had just kind of dazzled me. I hadn't been with a guy for so long, I jumped on the first one that I thought might be interested in me. He was pretty good-looking, though—I might just take him up on his offer for dinner. If he got some floss first, that is.

"Edward…" I walked forward until there was only a foot of space between us. He merely shifted slightly to the side. "Stop trying to ignore me," I said softly.

Silence.

I touched him lightly on the shoulder, and he took a step forward.

I frowned and tried to touch him again. This time, he spun around and caught my wrist, holding it in a death grip. His eyes were hard and cold as he icily said, "Bella, please leave my office, before I'm forced to take action and make you leave myself."

My eyes widened and I wrenched my hand from his grip, rubbing it gently. I felt hurt, though I didn't quite know why. "Why are you so mad? I didn't do anything to you."

He grumbled something, so softly that I didn't catch it.

"What?" I said crossly, "What did you say? I can't hear you when you're so quiet."

"I said 'Like hell you didn't.'" Now his voice was loud and clear and brash, trembling with anger.

"What is wrong with you?" I hissed. "I've done nothing wrong. Okay, so I kissed a guy. Big deal. Are you going to fire me or something? Am I really that bad of a secretary? Because just do it already—I've had it coming."

His eyes softened. "No, Bella. I'm not going to fire you."

"Then why are you so angry?" I couldn't help it, but I sounded petulant, even to me. My voice had risen in pitch, and I felt hysterical. I just couldn't understand this man—it was like he had mood swings or something. Just what would it take for me to comprehend his actions?

"I just…I'm behaving irrationally right now, Miss Swan, and if you don't leave soon my temper will only become worse," he said stiffly.

I scowled. "Why is that, then? And I thought that we were done with the formalities. My name's Bella, not 'Miss Swan.'"

He gave a tight little smile before replying. "Of course. Please, just…just leave. I can't handle it if you're in the same room as me…it…tries my patience."

"Really? Because it seems to me as if you're being very trying, as well. I want to know what's wrong, Edward, I really do. Please stop thinking of me as your employee for one moment, and think of me as…someone who's not involved with you in a business sense." I had to hold myself back from adding in a snide comment—he honestly looked troubled, and I didn't want to literally add insult to injury.

He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. "That, actually, is the whole problem, Bella."

"_What_ is the whole problem? I can't understand you if you keep speaking in riddles!" I tried not to sound exasperated, but failed miserably. "If you keep confusing me, how are we supposed to be…to be…?"

"To be what?" He looked at me expectantly.

"I don't know," I snapped. "Just…I don't want to hate you. I don't. And I hate holding grudges, because they make me feel so…spiteful and vindictive, but I can't forgive you for the way we met. And I can't forgive you for the way you acted towards me after we met. And I can't forgive you for what you're doing now. If I take any steps towards recovery, it will only be because, well, because I understand your actions. And honestly, I can't quite puzzle you out. I need you to explain yourself to me. Otherwise, I'll just keep hating you, and that isn't the best type of professional relationship." I took a deep breath. Had I actually just said that? I felt strangely liberated. I wanted to add that him constantly acting like a jerk didn't help matters, but decided to let that matter rest for the time being.

He stared at me for a long moment before saying in his hauntingly beautiful voice, "Perceptive. And honest."

I shrugged. "I have to be that way, at least around you. You're so confusing, that if I don't constantly tell myself the truth, I'm caught in my own lies."

He nodded slowly. "Well, then, can we attempt to be friends?"

I sucked in my lower lip, thinking. "No," I said firmly, but sadly, "I don't think we can. Not until I understand your motivation. I want to know what's happening…I want to comprehend you. And until then, I just can't accept what you're doing. Not without being hateful and spiteful and…grudge-holding."

He took a step towards me, wearing a bittersweet smile on his beautiful face. He was closer to me now than he had been before, only six inches separating us. I noticed how tall he was, at least six foot one, towering over me. I also noticed how his lips looked so nice against his skin, pale and smooth. Would they feel as nice as they looked? _Stop thinking that, Bella!_ I mentally thought, _Stop it! He is your boss, he is your boss, he is your boss…_

He looked like he was struggling internally with himself as he stood there—it must have been five minutes before he actually moved. He tentatively reached out a hand, gently brushing his knuckles against my cheek from my jaw to my hairline. I took a shuddering breath as he did so, my skin lighting up under his caress. It was so, _so_ much better than when Mike had touched me. It was amazing.

As soon as his hand had drifted from my chin and into the open air, he took a step backwards, his eyes wide as if even he couldn't quite comprehend why he had just done what he did, and said, his voice low, "You may leave now, Bella."

I nodded, too dazed to really contemplate what he had said, and stumbled out the door. I immediately collapsed into my chair, rubbing the area he had brushed his skin against, trying to capture the tingle that ran across my cheek and place it in my fingers. It was like some kind of static electricity, only better and fiercer, but not quite so biting.

What on earth had I gotten myself into?

**ASADSFADS ASADSFADS ASADSFADS**

"Alice, where are we going?"

The beautiful pixie stood in front of me, her hands on her hips as I shrugged on my raincoat. "I told you, it's a surprise."

"Come on," I begged, "just one hint."

"Well…" she pursed her lips, apparently deciding whether or not she should give me a clue.

"Come on," I pleaded. "You can make it really vague."

She grinned wickedly. "Alright, then. You will definitely be surprised when we arrive."

I frowned. "That's no fair. You already said it would be a surprise."

"No," she said, wagging her delicate index finger at me, "I said it was a surprise, not that _you_ would be surprised. Learn your tenses. And your pronouns."

I rolled my eyes and held up my hands in mock surrender. "Of course you're right, Your Majesty, Queen of Grammar."

She stuck her nose into the air and proudly declared, "Quite right. Now, are you ready to take the Porsche, peasant?"

I groaned. "Alice, we're going to cause an accident driving around in that bright yellow thing."

"We have to take it. Trust me."

"Why not my truck? Sure, it's kind of beat up, but…"

"Absolutely not!" Alice exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air. "That thing is older than my grandfather, and it sounds like a lion. Its engine is in dire need of repair."

I blinked innocently. "But Alice, the sound of it gunning into life will no doubt clear the roads for us, leaving us an open path to get to wherever we're going. Which you have as yet to tell me."

"Or," she said, just as pleasantly, "it will cause a traffic jam, get us ticketed, and end up landing us in jail for disturbing the peace. We're taking the Porsche, so don't complain. Trust me, the place we're headed to is fancy."

I frowned. "Then why are we going there in the first place? I hate this outfit, anyways," I tugged at my black dress.

"Oh, don't be such a spoilsport. You look fabulous." She beamed at me, her white teeth glowing in the dim light of the overhead fan. That reminded me—I had to change the light bulbs in our flat.

"You're the one that looks like Audrey Hepburn from Breakfast at Tiffanies," I muttered, glowering. It really wasn't fair, but Alice looked so beautiful in comparison to me. It was just that attractive Cullen gene again—her being my flat mate for six years hadn't changed my physical appearance one whit. Apparently it only rubbed off on Rosalie, so far as I knew.

"Oh, pshaw. You look radiant, Bella. Black works for you. Not quite as well as blue, but still. It's elegant." She looked at me speculatively, before saying, "You know, you're very pretty. Why won't you realize that already?"

I blushed furiously, mumbling, "Because it's not true."

She just chuckled and said, "You'll come around to my side eventually," before dragging me out the door and down the stairs to the little garage rented specifically for our apartment building. The lemon colored sports car stood out in the center of the garage, flanked by two police officers—Alice had given each a hefty amount of cash in order to look after her "baby". I thought the whole thing was completely ridiculous, but no one could stop Alice when she was on a roll. And boy, when she was talking about her cars…she really got on a roll.

She pulled me into the shotgun seat, handing the officers another wad of bills. "Thanks, you guys!" she said cheerfully. "I can really count on you."

The two policemen simply gaped at us as we sped out onto the streets, barely remembering to give a slight tip of their hats in farewell. I had to admit, we probably looked really strange—two women on a Wednesday night, dressed very fancily, and zooming around in a bright yellow sports car. It wasn't exactly an everyday occurrence.

"Alright," Alice said, putting her window down so that air blasted into the car, "we're going to make a quick stop at Lucia's to pick up…someone."

I raised an eyebrow. "Alice, why are we driving to a restaurant only to leave said restaurant with an unnamed person to journey to God-knows-where?"

She smiled. "Trust me, you will be shocked when you figure out who we're picking up."

"Edward?" I guessed.

She snorted. "As if. He's obsessed with his Volvo—it's nothing compared to this, of course, but the guy sure does have a thing for silver."

"He does?" I didn't know why, but I found this characteristic of his fascinating. Why did he like silver, of all colors? And why had he chosen a Volvo? Did he consider it sporty, or was it because it was small? Did he think it was fuel-efficient? And if so, did that mean that he was ecologically friendly, and that he wanted to help the environment? A million questions buzzed through my head—I wanted to know the answer to all of them, so long as it meant I was one step closer to figuring Edward Cullen out.

"Yeah," she nodded, "and he's got all his music in there, too. He's a freak when it comes to music. It's practically all he does. You know, he was actually going to become a concert pianist, but then he decided to be a lawyer. I have no idea why, I think the two professions are complete opposites, to be truthful, but I guess it's what he wanted." She paused and then gave a short laugh. "But why am I telling you this? It's not as if you care."

"Of course," I said smoothly, hoping that she didn't see through my lie. The truth was that I more than cared…I was slowly becoming obsessed. I wanted to know absolutely everything about him—maybe then I would understand his motives.

However, I completely forgot about my intriguing boss as soon as I saw the speedometer. "Holy crow!" I shouted, clutching the seat, "You're going to kill us!"

"What?" Alice glanced around, confused. Then she saw where I was looking, and giggled. "Ah-ha! Oh, are you scared of a little speed?"

I gulped. "Yeah, Alice, when it's going to get us killed. Do you hear me? Killed. Dead. Lifeless."

She just kept giggling. "Scared-y cat," she teased. "I can't understand how you can stand up to my brother so easily…but you freak out if you think we're going too fast? Unbelievable!"

"We're pushing 80, Alice!"

"So?"

"My point is that we're not in Germany! We don't have the Autobahn here! There are _speed limits_—which you are currently breaking." I would have thrown my hands into the air for added effect, but I was too afraid to let go of the seat.

She sighed. "Alright, I'll slow down, then, if it makes you happy." The needle slowly drifted down towards 70, which, though not great, was pretty wonderful in comparison.

"Thank you, Alice," I breathed out, finally relinquishing my death-grip on her leather upholstery.

"Whatever," she said, regaining her cheerful demeanor. "At least I kept that speed up long enough to get to Lucia's pretty fast."

I glanced out the window, shocked—she was right. There stood the proudly blinking and winking fluorescent-lit sombrero that sat upon the cursive words of 'Lucia's: Fine Mexican Cuisine.' "We're already there?" I was flabbergasted. She must have been going really fast.

"Yup!" she nodded happily, and gestured to a cloaked figure on the street corner, his hands in his pockets as his feet kicked at the cement sidewalk. "We're his ride," she clarified. She then rolled down my window and leaned across me, calling out, "Jasper! Hey, Jazzy! Over here!"

The cloaked figure shifted to look at us, and then hurried over to our car. The closer he got, the better I could see his face.

"Oh, hey, Jasper!" I said, waving ecstatically. I hadn't seen him for so long—he used to share our flat before he had taken his trip to Europe. He was writing a novel where the main character traversed the countries of France, Italy, and Spain, so he had wanted to see the setting first hand. I hadn't admitted it to myself before, but I had really missed him. He was like my older brother. And, of course, he was the love of Alice's life. They were perfect together.

He grinned good-naturedly at me, hopping into the back seat and shutting the door with a click. "How're you, Bella?" he asked. "I've already caught up with Alice on the phone, and then we met for lunch."

I glared playfully at Alice and punched her lightly on the shoulder. "You didn't tell me Jasper was back! And what about you," I pointed as Jasper, "you never mentioned your return date in your letters!" I looked at him accusingly.

He just shrugged and said sheepishly, "Alice made me promise. Sorry, Bella, but I thought it would be nice to give you a surprise."

I smiled. "Yeah, this is kind of nice. I'm glad you're back." But then, curiosity got the best of me. "So, do _you _know where we're going?"

He shook his head. "I haven't a clue. But, Alice said she wanted me to come along for 'moral support,' so here I am."

I looked at my best friend, who was easing the car to the left lane on the far side of the road. "Are you going to tell me?"

She grinned. "If I told you, I'd have to kill you."

I sighed. "I guess I'll just have to wait."

**ASADSFADS ASADSFADS ASADSFADS**

We soon left the lights of the city and started taking back roads, passing grand estates and towering mansions. We were definitely in the expensive part of New York—my only question was, why?

After twenty minutes of driving, during which Alice had sneakily tried several times to go 90 miles per hour, and we had played seven different games of 20 questions, she said in an excited whisper, "We're nearly there."

I looked back at Jasper, who simply shrugged. Try as we might, we couldn't guess where we were headed. Knowing Alice, it was bound to be something completely obvious…and yet I still couldn't figure it out. Where on earth were we going?

"Alright," she said, her voice dramatic, "just one more turn, and…" she swung around a sharp bend in the road, and whispered, "…we're here."

I gasped. Ahead of us stood a huge, wrought iron gate with a fancy security system attached. Beyond it was a twisting driveway that snaked its way up to a huge white house in the distance. Acres of green stretched expansively to either side like a vast sea of grass, and tiny figures of people could be seen patrolling the grounds.

"Alice," I breathed, "is this some kind of exclusive dinner party?'

Jasper was just as, if not more, stunned than I. His mouth was open and his eyes large. However, he had the presence of mind to ask a reasonable question. "Where exactly are we?"

Alice gave a nervous giggle. "You'll soon find out."

I frowned as we pulled up to the gates, a voice booming out, "State your business."

Alice rolled down her window and spoke into a tiny voice box, "This is Alice, Pete. Let me in."

"Oh!" at once, the voice switched from stony to amicable. "Alice! Great to see you again. Don't worry, we'll get you right in."

"Thanks, Pete," she said, bringing her head back into the car as the gates slowly swung open.

"Is this for real?" I heard myself whisper, the car sliding smoothly along the driveway. It was like we were gliding on a lake, slowly but surely sailing our way to port. It was incredible.

"It's like a story book," Jasper muttered. "Where the hell is this place, anyways?"

"Oh, don't swear!" Alice said cautiously. It didn't take a lot to tell that she was a bundle of nerves. "Please don't swear, not even a tiny bit. And make sure you look nice, both of you."

"Alice," Jasper sounded annoyed, "you picked out these clothes for me in the first place."

"No wrinkles!" she said, completely ignoring him and gripping the steering wheel tightly. "No lint! Make sure you two look great…this is a necessity!"

I frowned. She was usually never this anxious—the one time she had been, however, was when she had submitted her designs for her Spring line up. But even then she hadn't been so…jumpy.

"Alice," I said quietly, "are you okay?"

"Of course I'm okay," she snapped, "why wouldn't I be?"

"Calm down," Jasper said soothingly, his voice deep. "Relax."

Alice immediately stopped tensing her shoulders, and her hands became less stiff on the steering wheel. "Thanks, Jazz," she mumbled. I never quite figured out how he did it, but Jasper certainly knew his way around emotions—people's feelings were like putty in his hands.

We soon pulled to a stop right outside the front door, Alice leaping out of the car and shifting from foot to foot. I slowly pulled myself out, while Jasper fluidly slipped to his girlfriend's side, whispering something into her ear. I suddenly felt envious of them—they were so happy. They had each other, and their whole life ahead of them. And whom did I have? My crazy, stalker ex-boyfriend, Tyler Crowley, and the defense attorney for the Black case, Mike Newton, who wasn't even that great. I shivered, and wished I had someone like Jasper to wrap their arms around me and comfort me.

Attempting to end my agony of watching their intimate moment, I turned to the house and casually announced, "Well, should we go in?"

Alice was instantly by my side, saying, "Yeah. Let's go." She gripped Jasper's large hand tightly in her small one, and advanced towards the front door. I followed behind them, still dwelling on their relationship.

Before we were even five feet from the door, it opened, yellow light spilling onto the ground from inside. A woman stood in the doorway, with beautiful caramel hair that flowed to her shoulders and large hazel eyes. "Alice!" she shouted, running forward and embracing her. "Pete called to let us know you were here!"

Alice reacted by hugging the woman just as tightly, saying, "I'm so glad to see you, Esme."

They released one another, and the woman, apparently Esme, exclaimed, "Why, who are your friends, dear? I've never met them before."

Alice gave a sheepish sort of smile. "This is Jasper, my boyfriend, and this is Bella, my best friend." She now looked at the ground. "And, guys," it was noticeable that she was looking at anywhere but us, "this is my mom."

My jaw dropped.

Esme beamed at us and said, "I don't suppose she told you, did she? Well, that's just like my Alice, always putting things off."

Alice grumbled something unintelligible. Even though I was pretty stunned, I was even more astounded to see how docile she was around her mother. Around anybody else, she would have immediately challenged that comment—here, she simply hung her head. Why had I never seen this side of her before? Why had she never bothered to tell me?

"It's a pleasure to meet you two," Esme said warmly, shaking Jaspers hand, and then mine. She scrutinized me for a moment before laughing, a chuckle that sounded a lot like Alice's bell like giggle. "You must be the girl who slapped Edward. He's told us so much about you."

I blushed crimson, feeling very self-conscious. Just what exactly had he told them? And why was I known simply for slapping him? I had done other things, hadn't I? For instance, I had gotten him wheat flakes. Why wasn't I known for that, too? But, at the same time, I felt oddly happy. Apparently, I was important enough for him to mention to his family. I felt a grin spread across my face before I even realized it.

"Yeah," I said quietly. "I am."

"Well, don't worry," she said easily, "I'm sure he deserved it."

I completely agreed. It seemed as if Alice's mom was someone I could really get along with.

**ASADSFADS ASADSFADS ASADSFADS**

Apparently, there were more people that Alice hadn't told of our visit—Esme seemed to be the only one in on the secret. As soon as we entered, she called, "Edward! Emmett! Rosalie! Come down here immediately before I come up and bring you down!"

I heard scuffling from upstairs, and then three well-dressed bodies bounded down the stairs, skidding to a halt in front of Esme. Their eyes were alight with excitement, and they carried their shoes in their hands.

"Yeah, Mom?" Emmett had said, scratching his head. "What did you—" he finally saw us, and took a step back. "Whoa."

Rosalie took our sudden appearance completely in stride, sticking out her hand and firmly shaking mine. "Bella," she said, "it seems we meet again."

"Always under the strangest of circumstances," I added, shaking my head sadly in mock shame.

She laughed. "Yes, we'll have to fix that. By now you must not have a very good impression of us."

I laughed, and answered Alice's inquiring look by mouthing, "I'll tell you later."

"Who is this?" Rosalie said pleasantly, gesturing to Jasper.

"This," Alice said proudly, "is my boyfriend."

"Jasper Whitlock," he said, smiling and shaking her hand. His grin seemed to put everybody at ease, because Emmett immediately began to talk.

"You're dating our sister? Whoa, boy—you'd better be prepared. Has she taken you shopping yet? It's like she's high or something, running around the mall with that weird look in her eye—" Jasper looked amused as Alice glared at her brother, giving him a good, hard smack on the head. "Ow," he muttered, "God, Alice, what's your palm made of—cement?" That resulted in a smack from Rosalie. He grimaced and said under his breath, "Women." This time, Rosalie and Alice gave him a simultaneous smack while Esme looked on, clearly disapproving. I smiled—poor Emmett, abuse seemed to be a regular thing for him.

I then noticed Edward. He had been standing silently at the side, watching our conversation with a smile. Now the others had turned to talk amongst themselves, congratulating Jasper and Alice on their wonderful relationship; this left me alone, and the only person for Edward to talk to. "You look lovely," he said quietly, taking my hand and kissing it.

I blushed, the familiar static electricity tingling my skin. I now knew what his lips felt like—amazing, soft, and cool. I just wished that I could know what they felt like against _my_ lips. _Shut up!_ I though angrily, _Shut up! Remember, he is your boss, he is your boss, he is a jerk, he is a jerk…_my mantra served me well, and brought back memories of me searching through Walmart for wheat flakes. Never again.

Suddenly, Edward Cullen didn't seem quite so charming.

"Thanks," I said brusquely, trying not to feel slightly embarrassed. I had called him quite a lot of names within our three-day acquaintance, and now I was standing in his house without his prior knowledge. It made for an awkward situation, to say the least.

"Would you like to go to the living room to escape these buffoons?" he asked me, his eyes intense, but his mouth smiling.

I merely gave a stiff nod—I really hated gathering of couples, they always made me feel horribly lonely—and accepted his arm when he extended it. His suit was slightly rough against my bare skin, though the familiar static electricity managed to tingle me even through the fabric. I noted with distaste that it was a very pleasant sensation. How was I supposed to dislike him if he kept making me feel like that?

Soon we had swept into a small, beige room, beautiful and airy, though at this late hour it simply felt cozy. He led me to a couch, where he graciously waited for me to seat myself before he sat next to me. We were barely an inch apart, and I felt acutely uncomfortable. What were we supposed to do?

"So…" I said, taking a deep breath and turning my head to face him. I was surprised to see his face contorted into an expression of pain. I unintentionally gasped. "Are you alright?"

He shook his head before dropping it down to his knees. "No," he said, his voice sounding hollow.

"What's wrong?" I prompted. I found that I desperately needed to know what was torturing him so—I couldn't bear to see him in pain.

"You wouldn't care," he said bitterly.

"That's not true," I said, frowning. "Sure, you are a jerk…but you're also my boss, and, maybe if we share some of our troubles with one another, we can strike up a more agreeable relationship." I tried to sound collected and cool, though inside I was intensely curious. What had him so troubled?

He gave a smile that ended up looking more like a grimace. "You have Mike," he said accusingly. "And your ex-boyfriend. Aren't they more important than me?"

"What have they got to do with it?" I asked crossly. "Sure, Tyler's a pain, and Mike, well…"

"What exactly _is_ Mike to you, Isabella?" he snapped.

"I told you to call me Bella, Edward," I bit back.

"You said we weren't friends," he pointed out, still angry.

I sighed. "We're not. But that's the whole point of this conversation—_we're trying to be_. But sure, we can pretend for now that we're friends who tell one another all about their little troubles. So you start."

That pained look came across his face again. "Well, I don't want to be friends." He sounded torn as he said this, as if he was deciding between two possibilities. He roughly clasped my hands in his and gave them a firm shake. "I don't want to be friends at all."

What exactly was he playing at? "What do you want to be, then, Edward?" I asked, thoroughly frustrated. "Is this still some kind of game to you? You say you hate me, then you like me, then you hate me—why the mood swings? What is it that it so obviously wrong with me that makes you feel like I'm a toy that you can just toss around?"

He blinked at me. "You think _I'm_ toying with _your_ emotions?" he sounded flabbergasted.

I was ashamed to feel myself give an involuntary nod. "Yes," I whispered, turning my head to look in the opposite direction. I didn't want him seeing me when I looked so vulnerable—he would probably use it against me.

"Bella, are you…are you alright?" he sounded appalled. He probably thought that showing weakness was reprehensible.

"I'm fine," I said, turning back to face him. "It's you who needs help. Now tell me your problem. Maybe I can do something."

He shook his head. "I'm sure that this is one problem you can't solve."

I shrugged, trying not to show how peeved I was. I had come so close to cracking the nut that was Edward Cullen…and instead he told me I couldn't do it. "Maybe you should ask me and see."

He shook his head stubbornly. "No."

I glared at him. "Why?"

"Because, Bella…" he sighed. "You are you and I am me."

"Really?" I asked sarcastically. "I didn't notice. But please, spare me—obviously, my position is so beneath yours that you can't bear to talk to me. Forgive me if I'm still getting money together to pay my way through law school. But believe you me, when I get back here with my degree and everything, you will be sorry you ever looked down on me." I primly rose from my seat on the couch and walked over to the fireplace, staring dejectedly at the wood that lay forlornedly in a heap at its base.

I felt Edward's presence behind me even before he whirled me around, holding my wrists. My eyes widened—it didn't take an idiot to see how furious he was. Every pore practically exuded rage—he was seething. "What's wrong?" I asked, trying to sound as harsh as possible. He had absolutely no right to be so mad. I was just telling him what I honestly thought.

"You think that I won't tell you because of your position?" his voice was a mixture of incredulousness and anger, as if neither could quite decide with emotion was more important.

I nodded. "Isn't that the reason?"

His face leaned closer to mine, much closer than it had ever been before, and I could see its every tiny detail—it was even more beautiful up close. His eyes, though they appeared simply emerald from far away, were in truth flecked with jade and the blue-green of sea-glass, with tiny specks of a dark, woodsy brown interspersed between dots of pine and evergreen. His skin was flawless, as well, smooth and pale and soft. But his lips were by far the best—they were pink and un-chapped…utterly kissable. _What are you thinking, Bella?_ I berated myself. _Get a grip! Focus on something—close your eyes, at least!_

"Why would you ever think," he hissed angrily, his perfumed breath blowing into my face and dazzling my nose, "that I would look down on you? You, of all people!"

I frowned and struggled in his grasp, saying finally, my teeth gritted, "Let me go, Edward."

He shook me slightly, his hands gripping my arms even tighter. "Not until you answer my question."

"Well, yes," I spat, "yes, I do think that you would do that. In fact, I know that you would do that. I knew it from the moment I met you—you're that type of person who immediately assumes things, and to be quite honest, your character isn't all that great, either. I don't doubt that you would look down on me because of my status in the company. Maybe it's not intentionally, maybe it's because you haven't known me long enough or don't think I have enough qualifications—whatever it is, I'm not fully prepared to hear a long-winded explanation about your supposedly saintly qualities, because I don't believe you have any."

He blinked and released me. "You really think that?"

I sniffed. "Yes. I really think that. And besides, you hardly know me—who are you to guess at what I do or do not think?"

He stared at me for a long, hard moment, before saying bitingly, "You're quite right. I don't know you at all." He then strode out of the door, slamming it behind him.

I glared at his retreat. True, I had been a little over the top, and a little bit more than bitter—I had never before pinned myself as a grudge-holder. But there was just something about Edward Cullen that got me so riled up…maybe it was his built-in arrogance, or his careless way of giving people lop-sided grins. Didn't he know that they could practically give girls heart attacks?

But I had to compose myself. I was going to go to dinner, and I would make it appear as if I was completely unaffected. I would not let Edward know that he was able to make me so completely insane with anger so easily. It was just too befuddling.

I quickly calmed myself and walked out of the living room and into the dining room, fixing an easy grin on my face as I seated myself next to Alice. Everybody, it seemed, was occupied—Emmett and Rosalie were discussing something with Esme, and Jasper and Alice were immersed in a conversation that they found mutually fascinating. No one had noticed Edward's or my absence. Edward, it appeared, was trying as hard to pretend that nothing had happened as I—though I didn't think his technique of glaring at a napkin was quite as effective as my idea of fiddling with my hands surreptitiously in my lap.

Well, each to his own.

**ASADSFADS ASADSFADS ASADSFADS**

I picked at my chicken parmesan as Esme attempted to start an inclusive discussion. She was, unfortunately, failing miserably, because neither Edward not I would engage in conversation. We sat opposite of one another, looking intently at our food, and trying our best to pass the time by moving it around on our plates.

"So," Esme said, her beautiful smile unfailing as she tried yet again to initiate conversation, "Carlisle will be working late tonight."

"Really?" said Alice. "But doesn't he do that most of the time, anyways?"

Esme frowned. "Well, I wish that your father were here more often, but…I can't really help his profession." She then looked at me expectantly.

"He sounds very dedicated," I commented, hoping that would appease her.

"Oh, yes," she said happily, thrilled that I had spoken. "He's very into his work. Of course, he tries to put family first, but…I can't ask much more from him. After all, doctors save lives."

"And end them," Emmett added quietly, resulting in a sharp jab from Rosalie.

"Emmett," Rosalie said to me, ignoring her husband's wounded look, "has taken the apparently universal hatred between doctors and lawyers to heart." She rolled her eyes as if to say, "and he does this because he's an idiot."

"Damn straight," Emmett growled. "Malpractice everywhere. It's disgusting."

"Well, lawyers can be sharks," Esme pointed out, attempting to stand in for her husband. "There are faults with every job, Emmett. And please, can we not have this discussion at dinner?"

"No," Edward said quietly, "I think that it's a perfectly fine topic." He glared at my plate pointedly as he said this, as if he was actually addressing me. "I, myself, stand with Emmett. Lawyers don't overwork, but are just as dedicated. They help lives, and don't have to spend all day neglecting their families to do so."

I frowned—I had a feeling he was discussing something entirely different. "Well," I said, "it seems to me that the issue of dedication isn't really something that we can frown upon. If your father is spending all of his free time doing his job, something he loves, and helping people, who are we to say he's doing something wrong?"

Edward looked directly at me now, clearly angry. "Because sometimes the personal life is more important than the professional."

I leaned forward slightly. "Whose to say that he values one above the other? He's simply doing his duty and following his choices…it's his career. Who are you to pass judgment?"

"Uh, guys…" Emmett tentatively waved a hand in the air as if it would somehow loosen the tension between us. He seemed to be getting the idea that we were no longer discussing the issue at hand.

"I'm not trying to tell him what to do with his life," he snapped, "Carlisle can do whatever he damn well wants. I'm just trying to tell certain stubborn know-it-alls that there's more to life than what your position or career is, and that that's not the singular focus in most people's lives."

"And I'm trying to tell certain jerks," at this there was a collective gasp, "that you shouldn't restrict someone from handling their own life. _It's his future._ You shouldn't try to hold him back! And if you do, then you're suffering from a serious God-complex!"

Edward stood up, his chair screeching backwards. "Sometimes people are different from how they first appear, Bella. How would you know what I'm actually like? I doubt you know anything about me."

I mimicked him, pushing my chair behind me as I leapt to my feet, my hands clamped on the edge of the table. "Well, aren't we the little assumption-maker, _Edward_?"

He roared, "Oh, so you think that you can say other people assume things without even looking at your own completely idiotic actions?"

My voice level rose to match his. "My life is my life, Edward, and nobody else's. I don't feel the need to judge doctors for their behavior, just as I don't feel the need to judge people based on their gender—my God, not every female in the world is lining themselves up at your door."

"So you're back to insulting me again? You hardly know me, a point you've brought up numerous times. Who are you to tell me what I'm passing judgment on? I made a mistake—_once._ I mistook you for a woman that you clearly are not—forgive me for my folly, please! Just end your grudge already!"

"I don't know," I yelled, "that I even have a grudge, Edward. I think it's just developing into a strong amount of pure hatred towards an arrogant, egotistical, completely pigheaded _jerk_!"

Edward simply grimaced and shoved his chair into the table, looking straight at me as he announced, "I'll be in my room."

I sat back down in my chair, my chest heaving as I watched him walk out of the room, each footstep pounding into the floor. My heavy breathing was the only sound that could be heard. I suddenly became aware of his entire family sitting around me, looking between me and the door with a mixture of shock, surprise, happiness, and sorrow on their faces. I had no idea what that combination was supposed to mean…but that's what they looked like.

"Will somebody pass the salt?" I snapped, angry that they were so fascinated by the shouting match between myself and Edward.

Jasper, apparently, had collected himself enough to smoothly say, "Sure, Bella."

I grabbed the little glass container from him, furiously shaking it over my meal. Maybe, just maybe, the more I poured out of the container, the less angry I would become.

It didn't work.

**ASADSFADS ASADSFADS ASADSFADS**

I slid into the backseat of Alice's car, staring sullenly at the back of her headrest.

"Do you want to talk?" she asked quietly as she slipped inside, her face calm but her eyes betraying her worry.

"I'm fine," I said sharply. "Let's go back to the flat."

She nodded sadly, saying, "Jasper's coming out right now. We'll only be here a few minutes longer."

"I want to leave now, Alice," I said, my voice sounding pitiful. "I don't want to stay." This place reminded me too strongly of my bout with Edward. Why were we always at each other's throats, anyways? Now that I wasn't in his presence and completely infuriated by his existence, I could think a lot more clearly. And I could understand that we had both behaved ridiculously.

"I know," she said softly.

We sat in silence for a few minutes before I asked, "Am I a bad person?"

"No, Bella," Alice said kindly, "you're not." So why did I feel so horrible? Alice spoke again, acting as if she could read my mind. "You're just confused. You and Edward, well…it's pretty noticeable."

"What's pretty noticeable?" I snapped. "Is it noticeable that we don't get along?"

Alice looked at me calculatingly. "You really don't know?"

"No!" I said. "No, I don't! All I know is that he is the biggest jerk in existence, and he has me completely mixed-up!"

Then, of course, Alice being Alice, she decided to switch to a completely random topic. "Do you know how Jasper and I met?"

I nodded. "Yup. You were at that little Thai café by our flat, the one that closed down last year, and you were waiting for me. I was late, though…and…"

"And Jasper walked through the door."

"That's how you've always told it. But why does that even matter?"

She chuckled. "Wait one second and you'll see. Do you know what I felt when I first saw him?"

I shook my head. She had never really talked about it before, and I had never wanted to pry.

"Well, I knew when I first saw him that he was the one for me. I don't know how I knew, or why I knew, or when exactly I figured out that I knew, but I somehow, despite all of that, knew that I loved him."

"Huh," I said. "Love at first sight. Great. But how does that relate?"

She gave me that odd, calculating look again. "You really don't see?"

I fervently shook my head.

"Alright," she said, sighing. "It's not for me to tell. If you're truly so oblivious…you'll have to discover it on your own."

"Discover what on my own?" I asked, completely exasperated. Why were all the Cullens so confusing? "Discover why exactly he feels the need to treat me the way he does?"

"You know, Bella, it takes two to tango," she said sagely.

"Yes," I replied, "but it only takes one to be a jerk."

She raised an eyebrow and decided to change the subject. "So, why were you guys so mad at each other, anyways?"

I sniffed and faced the window once more, determinedly staring at the iron gates in the distance. "It was a minor disagreement."

She snorted. "Pretty minor. I've never seen Edward lose his temper with anyone like that, especially in front of company!"

"Well, he's my boss. We kind of all know one another. It's not like we're strangers or anything."

She frowned. "No, but really—you must have done something that really got him annoyed. Did you do anything that upset him today at work?"

I blushed before I could stop myself, or at least cover my cheeks. "I did do something," I admitted grudgingly, knowing Alice would worm it out of me eventually, anyways. "He caught me, um…"

"He caught you doing what?" she asked, suspicious.

"Uh, well…" I could feel myself turning an even deeper red—it was pretty embarrassing to admit what had happened between me and Mike. "He found me kissing the defense attorney for the Black case."

Her jaw dropped. "Seriously?"

I nodded, ashamed.

She started laughing. I raised an eyebrow—what was so funny? "No wonder he was so mad!" she chuckled. "I told him that pent-up sexual frustration would come back to haunt him, but no, he never listens to me. Ha! Payback! And not to mention a serious ego blow, too."

I turned bright red, stammering, "W…what?"

She giggled. "Edward, for as long as I've known him, has had such a high standard for what he wants his 'partner' to be like that it's been nearly impossible for anyone to fulfill his demands. So, romantic relations of any kind…that whole shebang is basically nada."

I buried my head in my knees. "Alice," I said, embarrassed, "I really would rather not talk about this, thanks. He's my boss. I see him practically every day—now every time I see him, I'll think of this conversation. And I really don't want to be perpetually blushing around him. Besides, what does _that_ have to do with anything?"

She smirked. "Oh, right, you still haven't figured it out yet. Well, when you do, let me know. But I'm not giving any more hints—his actions should be enough evidence. Honestly, I never would have thought you could be this dense."

I scowled. "Thank you, Alice."

She smiled angelically. "No problem."

I heard the front door to the car opening, Jasper's deep voice saying, "Is something wrong?"

"No," Alice replied cheerfully, "everything's fine. Bella and I were just having girl talk."

"Oh." He sounded relieved that he had just missed it.

"Would you like to know what it was about?"

_Please don't go on_, I chanted mentally, _please don't answer that question…_"Um, not really…" he sounded distinctly uncomfortable. Poor guy.

"It was about Bella's non-existent sex-life, and her surprising lack of any romantic relationships. Because, obviously, we're not counting Tyler."

"No, it wasn't about _that_!" I moaned, blushing even harder than before.

"Uh…" Jasper sounded really embarrassed. It was nothing, of course, compared to the humiliation that I felt. Even if he was like my brother, it didn't mean that I talked about this kind of stuff with him. In fact, I never talked about this kind of stuff with him. I made it a point not to.

"Don't lie, Bella," Alice said pleasantly, "it's not becoming. Alright, so, fine, we didn't exactly touch directly on the topic—but, I mean, it's quite clear that Bella doesn't have any type of relationship going on. And neither does Edward. Funny, huh?" Her voice was thick with implications that I couldn't quite figure out.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I groaned, lifting my head off of my knees to give Alice a woeful look.

"Oh, stop looking like an abandoned cat, Bella," she frowned, "And you'll figure out just what it means when you figure out what's so obvious between you and Edward."

"Oh, that," Jasper said, raising his eyebrow knowingly. He then stared curiously at me. "She hasn't figured it out yet?"

"Nope," Alice shook her head. "She's being a bit thick this evening. Probably put off by that little argument they had. Well, I expect she'll figure it out eventually."

"Um, what is it that is so obvious?" I asked, glaring at them. They just shook their heads, grinning cheekily at me. Bah.

Alice, once again, decided to change topics. "So," she said, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively, "that guy you kissed…"

Jasper immediately became protective. "Bella kissed someone?"

"It was accidental…" I murmured.

"Did he force himself on you?" Jasper asked angrily.

I rolled my eyes. "Please. No, it was just…I was caught up in the moment."

Jasper folded his arms and looked at me accusingly. "I haven't heard about this guy. What's he like?"

Alice pushed him playfully in the shoulder. "Jazzy," she whined, "if you keep that up I'll think that you like Bella more than you like me…"

"Oh, Alice," Jasper said gently, instantly calming down, "you know I love you."

She looked up at him, her eyes wide. "Well, you could prove it…" she trailed off, making Jasper grin wickedly.

"Um, guys?" I said, waving my hand in the air. "I am, you know, in the backseat of the car."

Alice wrinkled her nose in distaste. "That's awfully inconvenient."

I rolled my eyes—at least life was getting slightly back to normal with Jasper around. Alice was only ever this carefree and blunt when they were within one another's presences; it was like they were incomplete without one another. "Ew, Alice. Please…spare me."

"Just because you don't have a good, healthy romantic relationship doesn't mean that you should make fun of other people for having one," Alice sniffed, turning the key in the ignition to start the car. Jasper simply chuckled as I blushed. "And keep thinking on what's so obvious between you and Edward—here's a hint—"

"I thought you weren't giving hints," I said sourly.

"Oh, pish posh, be a good sport, Bella. My hint is this—what's going on between you and Edward can also be a course you take in high school."

I groaned. Alice just _loved_ to mess with me, didn't she?

**A/N: Alright, well, that hint at the end…what do you think the answer is? It's obvious to me since I kind of already know the answer, but I want to see how obvious it is to other people. Bella's completely oblivious to what Alice is trying to get across, of course, for reasons that shall become clear later on…**

**And that doctors and lawyers debate—I'm going to get it out in the open that I don't think there is anything wrong with either of these professions. Emmett only brought it up because he wanted to be provocative as well as try to force Bella and Edward into the conversation—he got a little more than he bargained for. Edward only went along with it so that he could take a jab at Bella for being so hypocritical. Bella only went along with it so she could take a stab at Edward for being such a jerk. It was a purely self-motivated argument on their part, and doesn't reflect my feelings on the subject at all. **

**Chapter 4, chapter 4, chapter 4…what am I going to do with that chapter? It is obscenely long—I think that I'm going to have to split it up into two separate chapters. There are also tons and tons of possible cliffhangers that I could divide the chapter at—but, you know, if I got enough reviews, I might decide to be nice…**

**Preview for the next chapter: we finally get to meet Tyler. 'Nuff said.**

**Remember: Reviews equal a happy me. A happy me equals a speedy typist and quick editor. A quick editor and a speedy typist equal an update! So, you do the math. **

**Until next time…**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Alright, thanks **_**so much**_** to everyone who reviewed! If it wasn't for the overwhelming opinion in the reviews that I should, in fact, leave chapter four in tact, I probably would have cut this chapter in half. So, keep 'em coming!**

**And now I have three issues to address:**

**1.) The guessing game—what exactly **_**was **_**Alice's hint about?**

**2.) Alice and her family—why is she estranged, is she estranged from anyone in particular within her family, and why did they not consider it odd that she randomly appeared at their house for dinner? (Also, subtopic, why did she and Bella leave so early?)**

**3.) Bella is pretty dang mean to Edward…so why hasn't she been fired yet?**

**I will try and answer all of these questions to the best of my ability.**

**1.) Well, the main guesses were sex-ed, chemistry, and biology. I've gotta say, kudos to those who guessed sex-ed, because I did **_**not**_** see that one coming. I thought it was pretty funny because I can see where you guys are coming from. You'll find the true answer somewhere south of this little schpeal of mine, so just keep scrolling down…**

**2.) Ah, let's address the subtopic first. That break in the page where I put the ASADSFADS stuff? That was my way of showing a time lapse. I would like to apologize because, reading it now, it's really unclear that there is a time lapse, so I'm just going to put that little fact in here…basically, Alice and Bella stayed for an hour or so and then left due to the whole "awkward-ness" thing.**

**Now, on to the estrangement issue. I wish I could answer this question fully, but then the mystery of Edward would be solved, and half of the intrigue would just disappear. But what I can tell you is this—the estrangement is mostly the fault of Edward. He and Alice had a spat of humongous proportions (though if Edward had been a little bit less of a gentleman the whole thing probably would have sorted itself out), and, well…you'll find out. I'm sorry if that makes no sense, but I honestly don't want to ruin the story and give everything away.**

**And Alice did not randomly appear at their house for dinner. That conversation she had with Edward on the phone? Well, that got her to realize a couple of things and so on and so forth…but that will be covered in approximately chapter six or chapter seven (I think), and it will probably make more sense then.**

**3.) The whole Bella X Edward conflict—well, she's basically mean to just him, and not anybody else. Also, there's a clause in his contract about firing employees which makes it difficult for him to just up and fire her…and she also isn't one of the usual secretaries that comes in and instantly bows at his feet for looking so handsome, which already makes her appealing for the job. There's also the fact that she is a really good secretary—she does her job well. Her personality? Well, Edward probably prefers it to that of ardent and slightly-psychotic admirer. Let's just leave it at that.**

**I hope that that cleared some things up (it might have confused you some more, I don't know), and I hope that you enjoy the next chapter in all of its 11,000 plus words glory.**

**Disclaimer: …do I have to? Well, alright. I don't own Twilight or it's characters. There you go.**

**And here comes chapter four…**

**Chapter 4**

I doodled aimlessly on a sticky-note. Today had been fairly uneventful…true, it was Thursday, and nothing much ever seemed to happen on Thursdays, but even for this already-thought-to-be-dull day of the week it had been especially boring. Edward had basically locked himself in his office, and almost never came out. When he did come out, he would walk by me without a second glance, and return in the exact same manner. It was extremely annoying, and I had made up my mind that, the next time he decided to show his face, I would stop him and force him to talk to me. I knew that not talking to him was probably better for my job—this way, I wouldn't get any more violent with him and start accidentally spouting off insults—but this couldn't possibly be a healthy business relationship.

When at last Angela knocked on my door with an invitation to the weekly secretary luncheon in the next-door café, I happily accepted. No doubt Edward would be happy that I was finally giving him some space. He probably needed a change of scenery from his office.

"So," Angela said as we rode down in the elevator, "everybody's going. Me, Laurent, Victoria, Carmen, Tanya, Irina, Kate, Jessica, Lauren…"

"Lauren?" I asked suddenly. "Lauren Mallory?"

Angela nodded, seemingly surprised. "Yeah, she works down the hall at the very end—she mainly talks to Jessica. We hardly see her, except at these meetings. And even then, half the time she and Jess don't come."

I frowned. Lauren Mallory was the girl I had caught Tyler cheating on me with…she was the reason we had broken up—not that I wasn't going to eventually, he was kind of an idiot—and she was also the reason that he was currently stalking me. Oh, this would be fun.

"Why?" she asked innocently. "Is something wrong?"

"Oh, no," I said, smiling. "But, tell me, what're the rest of these people like?"

"Well, Kate, Carmen, Irina, and Tanya…they're basically sisters. I'm not sure if they were adopted and lived together, or if they're actually related—I do know that they are practically their own little clique. But don't get me wrong—they're very nice. And pretty." She giggled nervously at this.

"What's wrong with them being pretty?"

She sighed and looked at me slyly from the corner of her warm blue-grey eyes. "They, excluding Carmen, absolutely adored Edward when they first started working here…that is, until he showed them that he held no interest for them. They'll probably be pretty envious of you, but they won't show it. They kind of are…manizers, if that makes sense."

I snorted. "Like womanizers, only for men?"

She nodded happily and laughed. "Yeah. It was actually pretty funny how he turned them down. He did it all at once—he gathered all three in a conference together and told them. They told us everything afterwards…Carmen made them spill—she figured it should come out in the open. They've actually learned to accept it now."

I smiled, though I felt a sharp tug at my heart. It had been happening all day—everything that reminded me of Edward made me slightly sadder, and slightly more depressed. I supposed that it was probably my conscience just making me feel guilty for being pretty mean to him yesterday, but that still didn't completely explain it. I chalked the rest of it down to a lack of coffee. Somehow, that always made the best excuse.

"But wouldn't Victoria, you know, fire them for being romantically involved?"

Angela shook her head emphatically. "He wasn't reciprocating their affections, so no. And besides…she couldn't technically prove there was a romance at all unless she saw physical proof. Or, you know, if she found them saying that they loved one another. But none of that happened, so…"

"So Victoria did nothing."

"Yeah, but…" she took a deep breath, "…we try not to mention stuff like that around her. You know, it isn't the best thing to talk about with her present."

I laughed. "Okay, sure."

We continued to talk to one another as we walked out of the building—I smiled and nodded as Angela told me in that soft, sweet voice of hers all about the other secretaries and the traditions that they had accumulated over the years. I couldn't bring myself to tell her that I was going to leave very soon, so it wouldn't matter anyways.

Soon enough, we had arrived at the little café. I pushed through the door, taking in the calm, metallic décor. It was basically all silver—I recalled what Alice had told me, how Edward loved that color. My heart gave another uncomfortable tug at that thought…he would like this place, wouldn't he?

I sighed as we entered, pulling up a chair to a large table in the center of the room where everybody else was already sitting. Laurent greeted me with a slight nod, his black eyes smiling, while Jessica merely gave a quick glance in my direction before rolling her eyes. I don't think she had quite gotten over that boardroom thing yet. Victoria beamed at me, and I was once again reminded of how friendly she was. Then there were four other women—I guessed they were Carmen, Tanya, Irina, and Kate—who I decided Angela had not accurately described. They weren't pretty…they were gorgeous. Like, Rosalie gorgeous. I blushed when I realized that Edward had turned them down—had he been completely blind?

I noticed Lauren last—she was looking enviously at the beautiful quartet. She was exactly as I remembered, except slightly more pinched, thinner, and angrier. She had white blond hair that went down to her shoulders, and light green eyes that were border-line grey. She was pretty, true, but didn't look like she was very nice. And besides, she had been willing to let my boyfriend cheat on me with her…I didn't exactly have the highest opinion of her.

When she finally noticed me, her eyes widened slightly before she smirked. "You know," she drawled, "my boyfriend, Tyler, is going to meet me here."

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes…and then I remembered exactly what she had said; Tyler was coming here. I felt like throwing up.

Instead, I merely seated myself, ignoring her completely. I could do this—if Tyler came, I'd just tell him to shove off and try to not make a scene. That was it, there was nothing to it. It would be easy.

Then, of course, Edward had to walk in.

Lauren and Jessica immediately focused their attention on his Adonis-esque figure, pouting their lips and batting their eyelashes. Didn't they have boyfriends of their own to worry about without flirting with my boss? I was surprised to feel a surge of anger rising up from within me—couldn't they just end their obviously unreturned affections already? It was so annoying! Irina, Kate, and Tanya, on the other hand, simply looked intently at various places, basically anywhere but him. Carmen snickered, and Laurent looked slightly miffed. Victoria just shook her head and turned to speak with Angela, who was seemingly unaffected by his presence.

Edward, however, was now at a table for two in the far corner of the restaurant with his face towards the door. He was looking in my direction, his eyes focused on mine. I could feel an unwanted blush rising to my cheeks as I tried to rip my gaze from his…but I couldn't. He was just so _mesmerizing_—_Remember,_ I reminded myself, _it's simply physical attraction. Nothing more than that. Just physical. So, try not to think about what he looks like, and you should be fine_. Finally, when a waiter came over to ask him for his drink of choice, he reluctantly looked away, answering the waiter with obvious annoyance.

"Bella," Victoria said, leaning towards me and snapping me back to the present, "Edward seems very...focused on you." She frowned.

I shrugged. "Maybe he just needs me for something…I probably forgot to organize a case file. Or maybe he wants me to get him some wheat flakes." I grimaced. "I'll go ask him."

She nodded, though I could tell that she was suspicious. I didn't completely understand why—she shouldn't have to worry about a relationship between him and me. We disliked one another immensely. No romance here.

And there was that tug at my heart again—what was wrong with me?

I politely excused myself from the table and hurried over to where he was sitting, asking quickly, "Can I sit with you?" before placing myself in the chair opposite of him.

He blinked at me. "Well, aren't we eager?"

I glared. "You know, you're making keeping my job very difficult for me. Victoria…" I didn't know how to exactly explain what she was going on with her—I didn't want Edward blowing up at me again.

"Is she on to our plan?" he asked innocently, folding his napkin and placing it neatly on the table.

"What plan?" I snapped.

"Our plan to get married," he said sweetly, tracing a circle on the table with his finger.

I rolled my eyes. I was not here to banter with him about pointless little fantasies he wanted to tease me with. If he wanted to make fun of me, that was his deal—I was going to be the responsible adult here and get down to business. "What is your problem?"

"Did you want something?" he asked, completely ignoring me, lowering his eyelids so that he was looking up at me from beneath his lashes. If anything, it made his eyes look even more appealing.

"Uh…" my mouth felt dry. What had I been planning to say? It had been some biting, witty retort. But now…my mind had drawn a blank. Why did his eyes keep doing that to me?

He smiled. "No response?"

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. "How am I supposed to respond?" I asked furiously, refusing to lift my eyelids. "You keep looking at me like…that, and it's very difficult to concentrate." It was embarrassing to admit, but I had to let him know. I wasn't going to tolerate it much longer, at least, not without a fight.

He chuckled, and then said gently, "Alright, I've stopped. Will you look at me now? I miss those wonderful brown eyes of yours."

I opened my eyes, blushing furiously. "Stop trying to butter me up for yesterday's behavior," I whispered. "I came over here to know why you were staring at me like that. It was making me uncomfortable. And besides, we need to talk—I know you've been camped out in your office all day, but we really need to sit down and sort out our differences."

His face became stony. "What if I don't want to sort them out, Bella?"

"They why am I over here?" I asked bitingly. "And how is that supposed to be a healthy work environment? We can't constantly hate one another in order to work together, you know."

He looked at me, sighing. "I don't hate you."

"So why can't we work this out?"

"Because you love your job, and you want to keep it."

Okay, he was missing my point. "That's what I'm trying to say," I hissed. "If I want to be successful at this job while I have it, then we have to be on good terms.

He shook his head. "No. Not possible. All roads lead to Rome, you know."

Was it another Cullen gene to randomly switch topics? "You know what? I can't take this. You are infuriating. I try to help, you push me away. I try to work it out, you tell me we can't. So what are we supposed to do? Should I apply for a different position?"

"No!" he said, suddenly and violently, jerking forward. "You can't!"

I raised an eyebrow. "Alright. I won't switch. But," I added menacingly, "this is just for the moment. We really need to work out our difference, or I _will_ switch jobs." I don't know why this particular point gave me such leverage over him, but apparently it did, as he grimaced and muttered, "Fine."

"Good," I said smugly. "Now, let's sort out our differences."

He sighed. "Alright. We need to get over that umbrella incident, first, on your part."

I sniffed. "I've been over it."

"Right. Sure. And the wheat flakes thing—"

"Don't even go there," I growled. "Give me a week, and then maybe I'll consider talking to you about it."

He rolled his eyes. "Your choice. We also need to discuss last night."

I sucked in a deep breath—I had been waiting for this. I needed to confide in him, much as I loathed the very idea, so that he would help me figure out my puzzling situation. "Apparently, Alice and Jasper said there was something going on between us. And I really don't get what they're talking about. Alice just said, 'It's also the name of a class you can take in high school,' which I do not understand in the least. So I was hoping maybe you could help me out."

He looked at me for a long moment, and then laughed.

"What," I snapped, "is so funny?"

"Class you can take in high school?" he said chuckling. "That's a good one. Ha!"

"Oh," I said tightly, "so you understand what she meant, then?"

He nodded, still chortling. "Ah, yes. But you don't see it?"

I shook my head. "Am I supposed to?"

He sighed heavily and murmured, "I suppose not." I didn't understand why he was so sad—what had I done? What I also didn't understand was why my heart gave another, harder tug. What on earth was wrong with me?

I was about to ask what was making him so depressed, completely ready for him to try and evade the question, when I heard the door fling open with a bang. I snapped my head around to see the source of the noise, and immediately felt my heart drop in my chest.

"Oh, God," I whispered.

Immediately, Edward became worried. "What is it, Bella?" he asked urgently, his hand trying to turn my face towards him.

"It's Tyler," I said.

Because, standing in the entrance to the cafe stood my stalker ex-boyfriend. He was as good-looking as ever, with the tousled brown hair and grey-blue eyes, the same grin that showed his two front teeth—the left slightly shorter than the right. And his gaze was fixed on me—only someone who knew him really well would have seen the manic gleam that passed through his eyes.

I whipped my head back around to face Edward, my eyes wide. I was honestly frightened—the shock of Edward being here had made me completely forget that Tyler was coming to meet Lauren. Edward was simply looking at me, apparently just as surprised as I.

Suddenly, I heard a voice above me, and a hand on my shoulder. "Bella," Tyler's tone was deeper and more mature than it had sounded on the phone, and less desperate. But maybe that was because of the different circumstances—now people were present, not just my answering machine. "Bella, it's been too long."

"Tyler," I said curtly, not even looking up at him.

"Come now, Bella," he said walking around to stand at my side and to my front, between Edward and me. "Won't you say hello to an old friend?" He reached out a hand and gently touched my face—I flinched away from him. Edward noticeably stiffened, and his eyes narrowed.

"We're not friends, Tyler," I said angrily.

He looked hurt. "But Bella," he said pleadingly, "won't you just forgive me? I know I've made mistakes—"

I threw my head back and laughed. "Ha! So you consider Lauren a mistake, then? Tell that to her." I nodded my head in her direction, where the blond was glaring at me and positively seething with contempt. "I rather believe she thinks you find me more interesting than her."

Tyler frowned and said quietly, "But I do, Bella. I find you more interesting. Funnier. Smarter. More beautiful." At this he attempted to touch my face again. I dodged his hand and looked pointedly at Edward.

"Let's go," I said simply, standing up and pushing my chair back into the table.

Edward gave a curt nod.

"Don't," Tyler said desperately, "Don't—I love you, Bella, I love you, and if you leave me again I don't know how I'll survive…" he looked crazy, his eyes alight and his breathing heavy, his lips curled apart. He grabbed my arm and pulled me closer to him.

"Let me go, Tyler!" I hissed, trying to shove him away. He just pressed me against his chest, breathing in my hair.

"Hmm," he sighed. "Do you still use that same shampoo?"

I continued to try and resist, but it did nothing. His arms were like steel and had me in such a binding embrace that I could hardly move. Why was nobody helping? Where were Angela and Victoria? And what about Lauren—wouldn't she at least yank him off of me to slap some sense into her obviously two-timing boyfriend?

Edward growled and said in a low, dangerous voice, "Let her go."

"Or what?" Tyler sneered, gripping me even tighter. "You'll call the police on me?"

"No," Edward said, sounding positively menacing, "I'll kill you."

I gave a tiny gasp at that statement and shoved even harder against Tyler than before. I was not going to have Edward murder someone and then be sent to jail because of me—I knew from the tone of his voice that he would follow through with his statement, and there was no way I would have that on my conscious, along with all of the names I had called him. Tyler seemed just as astonished by what Edward had said as I, and, coupled with my reinforced strength, released me from his hold.

I pulled away from him, breathing heavily. "Leave me alone," I said, my voice slightly hysterical, "just leave me alone!"

Tyler ignored me. "Is this your boyfriend?" he asked angrily, and slightly accusingly, "Is he?"

"What's it to you?" Edward snapped, stepping around Tyler and taking my arm. "All you need to know is that she wants you gone. And I want you gone, too," he added the last part, the threat in his voice obvious.

Tyler scowled, staring at me. "Are you dating him?"

"No," I whispered. "But that doesn't mean he can't protect me from you. Please, Tyler, just leave. I don't want to do with you ever again."

His nostrils flared and he gritted his teeth. "Bella, you know that you're in love with me. Obviously, you can't immediately see it with _him_ here," he jerked his thumb at Edward with disdain, "but I know that on your own, you'll see it my way. You'll come around."

My eyes widened. Was he threatening to corner me when I was alone? That was just a new sort of dementedness, even for him. I clutched Edward's arm and held back a gasp. I didn't want to be the clichéd damsel in distress…but I was seriously freaking out.

"You will leave her alone," Edward said calmly, showing absolutely no emotion, "or I will deal with you myself." And with that, he turned around and stalked out of the café with me, completely oblivious to the secretaries' looks of awe and confusion—they were frozen in their seats; they had apparently been too surprised to do anything. We hurried back to the office, completely silent the entire way. I didn't dare look at Edward's face—I was afraid I might see someone disgusted, sick at the thought that I had ever dated someone like Tyler. So I only stared blankly ahead of me, wondering what exactly Tyler was going to do to me. He had always been annoying—the constant phone-stalking was proof enough of that—but now it was simply ridiculous. I would now be living in constant fear of him, always afraid that he would find me and do…something. I shuddered to think of exactly what he _could _do to me if we were alone together…I buried my face in Edward's jacket. I didn't even want to contemplate it.

I found Edward gently guiding me along the hallways, making sure that I didn't trip. It was even more comforting when he wrapped his arm around my waist, allowing me to cling to him even more fiercely. I knew that he was my boss, and that I was supposed to hate him…but I felt safe in his arms. So I did nothing.

"Bella," he whispered, his voice strangled, "Bella, you're safe now, you're in my office."

I shook my head against him and gripped him even tighter.

"Bella…" his hands slowly took mine from his clothing and placed me in a chair. I hadn't realized it, but I had closed my eyes. I now opened them to find Edward kneeling in front of me—I was seated in the center of the room in the Inquisition chair. His face was not smirking or condescending, but tender. Had he actually transformed into some sort of human being? "Are you alright?" he said softly, taking my hand in his. He suddenly didn't seem like such a jerk.

I gave him a weak smile. "Yes," I said, "but I guess…I never realized how obsessed he was before…it's kind of funny, in a sick, perverted sort of way…" I gave a short laugh.

"Bella…" he closed his eyes, his expression twisted. "I'm sorry that I lost my temper in the café. I didn't mean to scare you."

I blinked. "Scare me?" What did he mean by that? "Oh—you mean threatening to murder Tyler?" I giggled nervously. "No, I wasn't frightened of you."

He opened his eyes, looking apprehensive. "Are…are you sure?"

I nodded. "I was afraid that you would actually do it, and then go to jail. I'm sorry, but that would be a really bad thing to happen, considering you are my employer, and my best friend's brother and all that." I blushed at how selfish it sounded, but it was true. I didn't have any other reason for wanting him to not go to jail. My heart then, of course, decided to give another, harder tug. Couldn't it just go into cardiac arrest already?

He grimaced. "Oh. Right."

I nodded again.

"Oh, Bella," he sighed. He took my face in his hands and looked at me very seriously, leaning forward slightly. "Would you mind it very much…if I were to kiss you?"

"W…what?" I felt my eyes go impossibly wide, and my eyebrows rise heavenwards. Did he say what I thought he just said?

"Can I kiss you?" he asked, speaking the words with deliberate slowness.

"I…you're my boss!" I squeaked, trying to back away. His hands just continued to firmly hold my head in place.

"Just once," he said firmly. "I need to know."

I gave a slight shake of my head. "No," I whispered. "No, absolutely not. You…I am your employee. No. This is not right—I mean, you're a jerk!"

He frowned as I voiced my opinions, but still persisted in speaking, "I need to kiss you," he said doggedly and determinedly. "And I won't take no for an answer."

"Then why don't you just do it already?" I snapped, still trying to struggle away from him. What had gotten into him? Why was he going from treating me like a servant, then like a plague, and now like something that he found desirable? Was this just curiosity on his part, or unintentional flirting on mine? Had I led him on in some way?

He gave me a calculating look, one I had seen grace the face of Alice many times. "You're right," he said resolutely, "I will."

My eyes widened even further. "No!" I hissed, "No! I was joking when I said that—I mean, we can't kiss! I don't, I mean, you're my employer! We're not even friends, really…"

He just smiled and brought his face to mine, so that we were only a centimeter apart. "I know," he whispered, completely ignoring my protests, and tilted his head slightly to the side. It seemed like it took an eternity before his lips finally met with mine, but when they did, I was amazed. The static electricity that I had felt when our hands touched was nothing compared to this. This was like lightning was coursing through my entire body, and it's only outlet was the intense joy that I suddenly felt. His lips were moving with mine, and, unconsciously, my hands had linked around his neck to twine in his hair. His, too, were occupied, switching from their previous position cupping my face to running through my hair as if he was afraid that it might suddenly disappear—that _I_ might suddenly disappear.

When he finally pulled away, I found my hands gripping his shoulders. I immediately began to blush, though he was grinning crazily, looking insanely cheerful.

"You felt it," he said breathlessly, "you felt it, didn't you?"

I gaped at him. "I…I…"

He gently shook my shoulders, saying, "Chemistry, Bella! The chemistry! You know, another word for a class you can take in high school?"

"I—oh." What he was saying finally dawned on me. "Oh."

He nodded and leaned forward again, obviously expecting another kiss as reward for telling me what had been puzzling me for so long. I, however, had no such intentions—yes, it had been exceptional, and yes, I would desperately like to do it again, but there was always the fact that he was my boss.

I shakily backed away from him, saying, "We'll forget this ever happened, alright Mr. Cullen?" I decided to give him a formal name so as to sever any unprofessional ties between us. I couldn't believe that I was admitting this, but it might actually have been possible for me to become romantically involved with him—after that, well…I was pretty much willing to accept that anything could happen.

His face fell. "Why?"

"Because," I breathed, "because I am your employee. Because I will be fired. Now," I was at the door, slowly turning the handle, "when we next meet or talk or whatever, it will be purely professional. Like this never happened."

He looked so sad and broken that my heart gave another tug. "You don't…want to even remember?" he asked quietly.

I shrugged. Should I tell him the truth and make it harder for the both of us, or just lie? I decided to go for a half-truth. "It doesn't matter what I want, Mr. Cullen. I'm here to keep a job, not a relationship." I then walked out the door, determined not to look back.

I just wished my heart would stop with all it's damn tugging.

**ASADSFADS ASADSFADS ASADSFADS**

I slid into the backseat of the cab, sighing as I leaned my head back and took in the woodsy, cigarette-smell that graced the interior. It would only be a few blocks until the apartment building, but I honestly didn't feel like walking. My entire being ached, and my heart had been tugging at itself so hard that I was sure it had been torn to little itty-bitty pieces. So I decided to splurge a little and take a cab home. After all, what difference did it make?

"Where to?" the driver asked gruffly, a cap shielding his eyes. His back was hunched over, and he was determinedly staring at the steering wheel. It looked odd, to say the least.

"Um, Ford's Apartment Building."

I was about to give him the directions, too, when he said, "Oh, I know where that is," and sped off in the direction of the building.

Glad that I had a competent, knowledgeable driver, I decided to relax a bit. I slipped off my heels to rub my aching feet, and groaned.

"Had a tough day?" the driver asked.

I frowned. I didn't really feel in the mood to chitchat, but I wasn't about to be rude and tell him to bug off. "Yes," I said simply.

"Rough time at work, eh?" he asked, chuckling softly.

Why did he have such a weird accent? "Yes," I said curtly. He simply laughed. What was wrong with this guy? He wasn't acting particularly peculiar, but he gave me an odd feeling in the pit of my stomach…it was eerie. I found myself wanting to get out of the car—it was an inexplicable urge. No, more than that—it was an instinct.

But it didn't matter anyways, for I could see the building towering around the next corner. The sidewalks weren't very busy, thankfully, so I wouldn't have to worry about bumping into someone and arguing with passers-by about who shoved who. That was the good thing when your boss let you off slightly early…I had hated to bring up the "incident", as I now called our little kissing session, but had said anyways, "I'm sorry, but I think I need to get out a little earlier than usual. I just can't deal with everything that's happening right now." And he had given me a sad, heartbroken smile and said, "Sure, Bella—anything you want," and I had gone away feeling even worse than before. Damn it, I knew he was usually a complete menace, but now he looked so downtrodden…I didn't know why, but I couldn't stand to see him so unhappy. I chalked it down to simple emotional turmoil, though I couldn't quite convince myself that my diagnosis was correct.

"What are you frowning at?" There was that pesky driver again, being unnaturally curious.

"Oh, nothing," I said lightly, hoping that he would leave me alone.

"What is it? A woman like you shouldn't look so sad. You're too beautiful." he demanded once more, his voice growing less gruff and becoming more deep. It was familiar….but I couldn't quite place it.

"Nothing," I snapped. Why couldn't he see that I didn't want to talk? And was he hitting on me? In a cab, no less? "Please, I'm not in the mood to talk."

"What," the driver was positively roaring now, "are you frowning at? Is it about your boyfriend? Did he do something to you?"

I gasped—mid-rant, he had turned to face me, his hat askew and his eyes wild. Blue-grey irises, uneven front teeth, and messy brown hair—Tyler. "Oh my God," I whispered, immediately shoving my shoes back on and furiously clicking the door handle open and shut. "Oh my God, Tyler, let me out this instant!"

He leered at me, no longer using that odd-sounding accent of his. No wonder he had seemed so strange—he never could act. "Bella, I just wanted to take you some place so we could talk things over."

"No," I said hysterically, slamming the window with my fist, "No! You are unstable, Tyler! I'm not going to be alone with you." And I certainly couldn't forget the threat he had made at the café—that he would get me alone and "convince me." I didn't really want to be convinced…especially not by him, and in the way he was planning on doing it.

"But we used to be alone together a lot," he said angrily, his expression pained.

"Yes," I groaned, "but that was back when you were _normal_ and not obsessing over me…you're crazy, Ty. Crazy. So just let me go!"

He shook his head and pressed down hard on the pedal. Why, oh why, had I made Edward let me out early? Tyler swerved to the right side of the road, cursing as he almost ran over a stray cat. "God damn it, Bella, I stayed outside your building all day just to see your face, just to talk to you…"

"Couldn't you call?" I asked desperately, trying to rationalize with him as I pounded on the door handle.

"You never answer my messages," he said accusingly.

"Of course not," I hissed, "because you leave so God-damn many it clogs the machine! Do you know how many repairmen have had to come down to fix it?"

He shrugged. "I just wanted to talk to you. You could have picked up."

"I was asleep! You call at odd hours of the morning!"

"Well, at least I was sure that you would answer."

I scowled. "How do you know that I wouldn't be seeing some other guy, Ty? Like Edward?" I mentally slapped myself. Now Tyler was going to get even angrier…other men involved in my life had always been kind of a touchy subject for him. Even though there was really nothing going on between Edward and I, except for that kiss…

He growled. "So he _is_ your boyfriend? And you've been sleeping with him?"

I blushed furiously and continued to fiddle with the silver handle, praying that I didn't accidentally break it. I needed to get out of here, and fast. "It's none of your business what I do or do not do, Tyler. I happen to like Edward very much, and if, well…I don't exactly have a simply platonic romance with him, thank you!" I half-shouted the last part. Of course, what I said was relatively true, though I had a hunch that Tyler would infer a little bit more from my statement than I had intended.

Tyler snarled and pressed down even further on the pedal. He was flooring it. How was I supposed to escape now? "So you have then, have you? I'll kill him. I'll kill him. And then I'll kill you, too—but not before I get a proper confession and apology."

I gulped and jammed the door-handle so far down that I was surprised it didn't crack. Instead, the door swung open, showing the grey street speeding below and the shops passing by on either side. I took a giant breath and leapt from the car, skinning my knee as I scrambled to get to my feet. I could hear the car skidding to a halt. I ran to the nearest shop and flung myself inside, quickly dodging into the closest corner possible. My labored breathing was the only sound that could be heard. Apparently, this was a bookstore—perfect. There were tons of rows and shelves behind which I could hide. I breathed a sigh of relief and tripped over to the cash register.

There was a very old man behind it, with olive colored skin and black hair tied back behind his neck. His face was wrinkled with age, but his eyes were keen and intelligent, and completely black. "Do you have a back room I could go into?" I asked hurriedly, not caring that I must have looked like a complete nutcase. I just had to find some shelter, and fast—Tyler would be coming for me any minute now. I had a feeling that he would somehow hunt me down, despite all of the winding pathways one could take through the shelves. A storage room would be a much safer bet.

I had expected that the man would ask questions, or at least try to somehow delay me, but he simply nodded and said, "Follow me."

I smiled weakly at him as he led me to a small room in the back of the bookstore, saying, "My grandson's already in there, you know—you can talk to him. But be sure not to make too much noise. That guy you were with is probably coming right now."

I nodded, surprised. Had he seen that? True, the register was right near a window…so that was why he was so willing to help. I didn't bother to thank him, though—I simply lunged into the room and threw myself against a wall, holding a hand to my chest as if it would somehow muffle the pounding of my heart. Surely Tyler would hear it if he entered the shop—it was the loudest thing that I had ever heard, like a thousand hooves beating a rhythm within my ribs.

"Are you alright?" I looked quickly around the room for the source of the voice. I immediately took in the coffee-stained walls and single rickety table with a single rickety chair set in the center, as well as the miniature TV balanced precariously on a small shelf in the corner. And, sitting on a stool in the opposite-facing corner was a tall, rather gangly young man, gazing at me curiously. I guessed that this was the old man's grandson that he had mentioned—he had the same glittering, onyx eyes.

I took a deep breath and said, "Sure, I guess. As alright as possible, considering."

He nodded, gazing at me intently. "We saw the whole thing."

I closed my eyes and whispered, "I know." I wished he would change the subject. I didn't want to talk about Tyler. But, of course, he pressed the issue.

"I'm sorry about your boyfriend."

"Ex," I quickly corrected him.

He smiled. "That's good—someone like you shouldn't be hanging around guys like him."

I took in a sharp breath and laughed. "Well, I try not to." I looked to see his reaction, noticing that he was biting back a smile.

"My name's Jacob," he said quietly, "but call me Jake."

"Mine's Isabella," I said, just as softly, "but call me Bella."

He got up slowly and made his way over to me. "Pleasure to meet you," he said, grinning. I found that his grin was calming, just like Jasper's voice. But more than that—I actually felt comfortable and at ease. I decided that I liked this Jacob guy—we could probably be very good friends.

He stuck out his hand as an attempt at a civilized greeting—trying to pretend that I hadn't just barged into the backroom of a bookshop. His arm looked very strong, and was practically all muscle. His skin was slightly olive-y-reddish, a tinge darker than that of his grandfather's. Jacob, too, had his black hair pulled back into a ponytail, though he wasn't stooped and shrunken. No, he was practically a giant, measuring at least six foot five, if not six foot six. He had to bend down just to stand up in the tiny, box-like room.

I giggled and shook his hand. "Pleasure to meet you, too, Jake."

He grinned easily again, and his warm smile melted my heart. This could be the beginning of a beautiful relationship.

**ASADSFADS ASADSFADS ASADSFADS**

It was half-past six by the time I looked at my watch. Tyler had come into the shop hours ago, only to leave a few minutes later when I was nowhere to be found. However, he had toppled a few bookcases in his anger, and been extremely rude to the old shopkeeper, whom I had later learned was called "Billy." After this had happened and Tyler had left, I had insisted that I help Billy clean up. He had been reluctant to set me to work, but I didn't mind in the least…after all, I was the reason that his shop had been damaged in the first place. However, it was a lot of fun, as Jake and I had taken to talking about ourselves and one another, our likes and dislikes, nonstop. He was turning out to be almost as good a friend as Alice, and just as easy to talk to.

"So, favorite book?" he asked, scanning the shelves with his liquid black eyes as he made sure that the books were correctly arranged.

"Um…" I took a moment to think as I sprayed one of the walls with Lysol, furiously scrubbing at it with a paper towel. "I would have to say…Romeo and Juliet. Hands down."

He sounded surprised. "Really? So, you go for the tragedies?'

I shrugged. "No, not exactly. But I don't really think of it as a tragedy."

"But the two main characters die at the end, and are unable to be together. Isn't that the least bit sad and depressing?"

Yes, it definitely was sad and depressing, if you looked at it from a certain perspective—but I chose to look at it from a different point of view. "Oh, I don't know," I said, now eyeing a stubborn speck of dirt that refused to budge. "I think that them dying was the final way of them overcoming all of their obstacles. Now they're together forever—" I gestured vaguely upward, "—and with one another. And really, the story was about their falling in love—what's so tragic about that?"

Jacob was silent for a moment before answering in a thoughtful tone of voice, "I suppose you're correct. But I still believe that it's a tragedy that they weren't able to be together in life. That kind of takes the fun out of it, doesn't it?"

"I suppose," I said, laughing, "though taking the fun out of being poisoned and stabbed doesn't really seem to be a very convincing argument."

He laughed along with me.

"Well, what's your favorite movie?" I asked. We had already covered favorite book for him—Treasure Island.

"I'd have to say it's probably a black and white one, actually. Billy's really into the oldies—he forced me to watch them all the time when I was little. By the time I was six I could name every major star and starlet's name from back then."

"So what would you say, then? Which old movie?"

"Ah…well, right now I'd go for Bringing Up Baby. Katherine Hepburn and Cary Grant…irresistible chemistry." I grimaced at his use of the word—obviously, when Alice had given me that hint she had intended it to be "punny." I didn't find it the least bit hilarious. "Plus there's a leopard in it, and I love animals. I also love humor—so it's the perfect movie for me."

I giggled. "Okay. I'll have to watch it with Alice and Jasper some time."

"Who's Alice?" he asked curiously, before demanding in a slightly more serious voice, "And who's Jasper?"

"Alice," I said, "is my best friend—we share a flat. That's where I was headed, actually, before Tyler…" I shuddered and continued, choosing to skip over that little event of today. "…well, anyways, we've known each other for two years. In fact, us trying to meet and find out whether we were going to be flat mates together was how she met Jasper, her boyfriend—she was waiting for me, and Jasper just walked right in."

"Oh," Jake said simply, sounding slightly happy.

"Yeah," I grinned. "They're really great people—you should meet them sometime, they'll like you."

"Okay," he nodded. "I'd love to."

"Oh!" I exclaimed. "Edward would probably like to watch that movie, too!" I don't know why the words came out of my mouth, but they did. I hadn't even known that I wanted to watch anything with him, let alone a romantic comedy—what was getting into me? Had his kiss completely rattled my brain? I didn't exactly doubt it.

"Edward?" He sounded suspicious. What, did he not like the names of Jasper and Edward? He didn't react to them like he'd reacted to Alice.

"Oh, yeah," I said easily, "he's my…well, I'm not quite sure what he is."

"Are you dating?" his voice was slightly cold. I blamed his seemingly icy tone on my faulty hearing.

"Um, no…" I said, furrowing my brow. How would I explain Edward's and my relationship? "Well, he's my boss, and I'm his secretary…"

"Huh," was all Jake said in response.

"And I kind of hate him," I continued.

"Why?" he interrupted.

"Because he's a big jerk," I said patiently. "But, I guess…he kind of…really likes me. Which is odd, because he was a complete goon the first time I met him, and most of the times afterwards. But he does. I can't really help that."

"Why don't you return his advances?" Jacob's voice was slightly cheerful now, not hard and cold.

"Like I said, he's been a jerk. I mean, he's sort of gotten a bit nicer—" if you counted kissing your secretary against her will as "kind" behavior, "—but, I mean, he's still Edward, the guy who refused to lend me his umbrella, and sent me hunting for wheat flakes."

"Oh," was all Jake said in response. He had no idea what I was blathering about.

"I mean, he's really attractive, but, you know, you can't help physical attraction—and I mean, anyways, he's my best friend's brother, too, not just my boss, and she and her boyfriend and the rest of his entire family sans his father who I haven't met yet think we have chemistry or something," I took a huge breath, unable to control my babbling. "And, I suppose he's kind of charming and sweet, but you know…I can't really get over what he's done and…and yeah." I shook my head sadly.

"Well, couldn't you just tell him your feelings?" Jacob offered.

"Well, Jacob," I sighed, "truth be told, I don't quite know what my feelings are. Because I know he is a complete jerk, there's no questioning that—but every time I walk away from him, my heart…it throbs." I placed a hand over my chest and squeezed it slightly, closing my eyes. "And I don't know why, because I hardly know him."

"So you think you might be more than just physically attracted to him," Jacob said simply.

"Yeah," I said despondently. "Basically." I then turned to look at him, my eyes wide. "Jake," I said softly, pleadingly, "what would you do? How would you even know what to do?"

Jake took in a deep breath and said, staring at the ceiling, "From my perspective, or from yours?"

I frowned. Why should it matter? "From my perspective, I guess," I said. "It's as if you're in my shoes."

He nodded. "I would say…give him a chance. Otherwise, how are you supposed to know how you really feel? I mean, if it doesn't work out, I'm sure you two are mature enough to handle being in one another's presence, and then you can just forget it ever happened over time."

I gave a slow, deliberate nod. "Okay," I said quietly, "that makes sense. I'll…give him a try. To hell with company policy, it's not like we'll be doing anything." The more I thought this plan to myself, the better it sounded. I could just…give him a test drive. See what he was like. And maybe, just maybe, I could solve my crisis and my heart would decide not to play tug of war with it's own being. I suddenly beamed at him, "Thanks, Jake!" I said cheerfully. "You've been a great help."

"Okay," he said, laughing at my sudden change in demeanor. "Okay."

I grinned and glanced at my watch to see the time. "Holy crow!" I shouted, "It's six-thirty! I promised Alice I'd be back by six—she'll be losing her mind!"

Jacob just gave me a good-natured smile as I dashed out of the shop, called "Black's Books," and over to my apartment building—I was too afraid to take a cab, and enough people were around that I was sure I wouldn't be bothered by Tyler. I quickly grabbed my cell from my jacket pocket and dialed Alice, tensing as she immediately picked up.

"Bella!" she screeched. "Bella, is that you?"

"Uh, yes," I gasped, throwing open the door to the apartment building and dashing up the stairs two at a time. Why had we picked the eighteenth floor, of all places?

"Bella!" she squawked. "You are so late it's not even funny! Do you know that I called Edward to ask him where you were, and now he is here pacing because he is sick with worry over _you_? You'd better consider yourself lucky that Jasper was working late and isn't going to be back for a half hour, otherwise I would have sent the two of them all over the city looking for you!"

"Uh, Edward's here?" She had called my boss? _My boss_? What was wrong with her? I was only a half hour late! I gasped, clutching my sides. I wasn't used to bounding up stairs. "I'll be there in…in a minute," I started my upwards journey once more.

"Well, you'd better be!" she screamed, "Or I will personally schedule a makeover session for every single night of the week!"

"Oh, Alice," I groaned before snapping the phone shut.

I was expecting to have a very, very awkward evening.

**ASADSFADS ASADSFADS ASADSFADS**

Awkward had been the understatement of the century. This was just plain embarrassing. Here I sat, on the couch, sandwiched between Edward and Jasper, Alice looming menacingly over me, and myself being completely humiliated. I had tried to convince Edward to leave, that he was wasting his time here, but he had refused, saying stonily, "I want to get to the bottom of this. Alice is worried sick, you know." How was I supposed to tell him that I was particularly adverse to letting _him_ know what had happened between Tyler and me? He would probably go out and buy a gun or something and get himself landed in jail for homicide. So, to stall, I had said I would only tell what had happened if Jasper was there to hear it. Actually, I didn't think my older-brother type figure would take it that well, either, but at least he would maintain a calm head. Edward, on the other hand, would probably blow up. I had begun to notice he had quite the temper…

"Bella," Alice hissed, her eyes narrowed, "you had better spill. You know, I was preparing to take us to Esme's house again tonight—we might have had time to actually doll you up, if you hadn't come in so _late_. So now everything's ruined! Everything! You might have actually met Carlisle even, you know?"

I glowered at her. I didn't need to be reminded of what exactly I had done wrong.

"Easy, Alice," Jasper said soothingly. "She'll tell us when she's ready."

"Yes," Edward echoed, staring straight ahead. I felt my heart twinge a little—as soon as I had gotten home, he had practically barreled me over in happiness that I was alive. Then, remembering what had happened this afternoon, he had backed off and turned cold as ice. He wouldn't even look at me, and I would be lying if I said that it didn't hurt.

"Do you promise that you won't get angry?" I asked quietly, though my question was directed at Edward.

They all nodded, though Alice said furiously, "I already _am_ angry, Bella. Now we have to order take-out. Take-out! I hope you like Thai."

I took a deep breath and ignored her. When I began to talk, I decided that I should speak fast—maybe if I was speedy enough, they wouldn't understand what I was saying or what had happened and so would just leave me alone. "So, after I got out of work," quick glance at Edward, "I went and got a Taxi as usual and then I got on the Metro…but I'd been having a bad day," quick glance from Edward, "and so I decided I didn't want to walk the rest of the way home, so I called another Taxi. I thought it was really weird, you know, that it had been just waiting there, you know, and nobody had gotten into it—I mean, people had gone up to it but they had been turned away."

Jasper frowned. "So, was this person following you?"

I scowled. Damn his ears, they could pick up anything. "Yes," I said, trying to maintain my speed, "and so I decided, what the hell, and got in, and the guy let me get in which was also kind of weird you know, since he hadn't done that for anyone else, and half the women there were twice as pretty as me—"

"Oh, Bella!" Alice cried, "That's not true!"

Edward just twitched.

"—and so I thought it was weird, but anyways, I got in and he was driving me but I was too focused on what had happened during the day," quick glance at Edward, whose face had imperceptibly turned towards me, "and so I didn't really focus on all of the weird stuff. So then he started talking to me, and I wasn't quite in the mood to talk, but I let him go on and on, and before I knew it, he'd started yelling at me for frowning because he thought it was because of Edward."

Cue the questions.

"Wait, what?" Alice asked, extremely puzzled. "That makes no sense."

"Yes," Jasper said slowly, "you're not telling us everything."

Edward twitched again and gave a slight shrug of his shoulders.

"Well," I gave a nervous laugh, "he thought that my frown had been caused by my boyfriend, which he seems to think is Edward, and, well, that's because the cab driver was actually Tyler Crowley."

This got an immediate reaction. Edward leapt up, his temper completely lost, while Alice started babbling insanely. Jasper just looked sort of shocked.

"He followed you from work?" Edward bellowed.

"Oh my God, Bella, should we call the police?" squeaked Alice.

"What exactly did he do?" Jasper asked, frowning. I could tell from his tense shoulders that he was having trouble controlling himself—he wanted to be as angry and unstable as Edward was at the moment. However, Jasper could keep a cool and level head. Unlike _some_ people.

"He just kind of…drove me around," I said simply, fidgeting.

"You're editing," Edward said accusingly, turning his anger from Tyler to me. I cowered under his furious gaze. "Why won't you tell us? Or are you embarrassed that you ever deigned to date such a boor? Or did you actually enjoy spending time with that…_thing_?"

I gulped, my vision swimming. He sounded so contemptuous, just as I had feared he would. He probably hated me. I didn't know why, but my heart positively ripped in half at that thought. _Why?_ I asked myself. _You already hate him—so if he hates you, too, then the scales are evenly tipped, aren't they? And to hell with chances—even if Jake did give you good advice, that was before Edward decided to be such a big jerk again…_

"No," I choked out, trying my hardest not to cry. I would be damned if I let my boss see me bawling over him like an infant. I was better than that. "I'm disgusted with myself for ever having anything to do with him…but you don't know what he was like before. He was sweet, and charming, and…" _And a little bit like you,_ I mentally added. I just didn't have the guts to say it.

"Oh, really?" Edward sneered, his face contorted with rage. "Sweet and charming? I suppose that you look for all of those traits in a guy—people like Tyler, who stalk you, and people like Mike Newton, you are womanizers in the first degree."

"What does Mike have to do with this?" I snapped, my indescribable depression at Edward's apparent hatred souring to anger.

"Oh, nothing," he said scornfully, "just that you happen to involve your self with the worst males in the entire species."

I gave a little gasp and turned away from him, blinking furiously. _I must not cry, I must not cry, I must not cry…_

"Edward!" Alice said reproachfully. "You nitwit! Can't you see she's had a rough day, and here you go, harping on her for things she can't help?"

"Oh, she could help it," he said, breathing heavily, "she could." There was an unmistakable note of sadness in his voice. But why was _he_ sad, of all people? I was the sad one, who just got completely told off by their boss (and possible love interest) for being an idiot. And I was an idiot. What had I been thinking, getting involved with Tyler? And why had I led Mike on? Idiot, idiot, idiot.

"What else did he say, Bella?" Jasper asked gently, while Alice and Edward bristled at one another.

"He said he would kill me, and Edward," I said softly, ducking my head down.

I had captured Edward's attention once more. "He said what?" he asked disbelievingly. "I swear, I'll find him, and murder him…" I was both shocked by the absolute sincerity of his statement, and, though I knew it was slightly morbid, touched. It was kind of sweet how he wanted to murder Tyler because he had threatened to murder me…in a weird, twisted sort of way, of course.

But still, touching.

"This is interesting," Jasper muttered, beginning to pace. "Very interesting. His level of devotion…he would rather you die than let any other man have you?"

"What an ingrate," Edward said angrily.

"What a nutcase!" Alice concurred.

I just groaned. "But I'm not _with_ another man, Jasper. I'm single."

He raised one eyebrow. "Oh, really, Bella? And you aren't even remotely attracted to anyone that you know?"

"W…what?" I spluttered. "How—that is the silliest thing I have ever—what's gotten into you?"

He grinned knowingly. "The question is, what's gotten into you?"

"Chemistry," Alice mouthed to me from behind Edward, furiously signaling to me that she was indicating said employer.

I blushed. "That's ridiculous," I said softly. "And besides, it would never work."

"What would never work?" Edward snapped, glaring around angrily. He hadn't noticed a thing. "And who exactly are you attracted to, Bella?" I would have had to be exceptionally dense not to see how heated he had become.

"Jealousy gives you so many wrinkles, Ed," Alice frowned.

"I'm not jealous!" he yelled. "Why should I be? I mean, she's just…" He was seemingly unable to finish his sentence, and spluttered incoherently.

Suddenly, I was filled with red-hot anger. I was sick of this. First thing when I come in, he's completely concerned. Then he gives me the cold shoulder. Then he's plotting ways to destroy Tyler, and then he's completely losing his temper with me. When would he make up his mind?

"Alright, fine," I said hotly, "what exactly _am_ I, Edward? Since you are clearly so opinionated on the subject."

He gazed at me coolly, all emotion gone. This just made me even more frustrated.

"My God!" I threw my hands into the air and gave a wild laugh. "What exactly is wrong with you? I swear, your mood swings are getting to be too much for me. How am I supposed to deal with you, Edward? How? What am I supposed to do with you? I don't even know how to react to you, or whether I should, because it just gets you angrier and angrier! It's like you…you…"

"Like I hate you?" he asked smoothly.

I nodded, unable to speak the words. Somehow, they were painful to my ears, like sharp, stabbing sounds that managed to lance through my body. How could noises hurt me physically? And yet, they did.

"Well," he said viciously, his voice soft and rippling. "I do." And with that, he stalked off, slamming the door with a bang.

As soon as he left, my drive to not let him see me cry disappeared. Now I was with my friends, Alice and Jasper. They didn't care if I shed a few tears. So I collapsed onto the couch, burying my face in my hands. I didn't make a sound as I cried, simply letting the tears run down my face. I was crying mainly because I didn't know why I was crying…a full-circle, snake-biting-it's-own-tail kind of thing, I supposed. But I was also crying because I was sad, I was angry, and, above all, I was confused. I was angry that Edward had said he had hated me—why on earth should he hate me? I had been perfectly reasonable to him. Sort of. Kind of.

Not really.

Alright, well, maybe I could understand a certain amount of dislike on his part. But I couldn't understand where the hate came from. I had been told since I was very little that "hate is a very strong word", and up until now I had completely laughed at that phrase—a word is a word is a word is a word, after all. But when it came out of Edward's mouth, when my employer, whom I might be a tad attracted to, actually said that he _hated_ me—I suddenly got what my mother and father and grandfather and grandmother had meant. Hate was a very, very strong word. Hate hurt. And I didn't want Edward to hate me.

So that was where the anger came from, and also the sadness. The confusion, well—I didn't understand why I didn't want Edward to hate me. It's not like his opinion mattered, right?

_Right?_

I didn't know. Ever since I had met Edward, I hadn't understood anything. Well, I _had_ understood right off the bat that he was an arrogant jerk who was stuck-up and mean and ornery and self-centered…but he was the jerk that had helped me with Tyler, he was the jerk that had come to my apartment—had willingly visited his sister Alice after years apart—just to check if I was okay. Somehow, jerk didn't seem to be quite the most apt description anymore.

So, what word _did_ fit Edward Cullen?

Surprisingly enough, I didn't know. So I just kept crying, frustrated with myself for not understanding my own mind, angry with Edward for not understanding me, sad that I couldn't understand Edward, confused because I didn't know _why_…

"Shh, shhh," Alice said soothingly. "It's okay, Bella, it's okay…"

I shook my head. I knew that Alice was just trying to be helpful, but there was no point in lying. It was not okay. It was not going to be okay. My world had been thrown for a loop, and was so dizzy that I was completely disoriented. I didn't understand myself, or what I wanted, or what I needed. All I knew was that, somehow, some way, it all led back to that one puzzling, enigmatic, and incredibly confusing man:

Edward Cullen.

**A/N: Wooo…it's over! My longest chapter yet, and most of it is just Edward being angsty. I know that Edward it acting really strangely, but if you see it from his POV, it makes sense. However, you're viewing this from Bella's POV, so…I don't know, I might do a chapter in his POV eventually, but I highly doubt it.**

**Well, I hope that you've enjoyed this excruciatingly long chapter of mine, and here is the preview for chapter five:**

**The return of Mike, the carrot suit, and **_**hypothetical situations**_**...ooh, I wonder what that can all mean? The only way to find out is for me to update, and the only way for that to happen is for people to review…so, review!**

**Remember: Reviews equal Me plus Happy**

**Me plus Happy equals Update**

**Therefore, through the transitive property…**

**Update equals Reviews!**

**Yay! So, review! Oh, and, next chapter, Alice is going to give another hint. I wonder what it could be? Hmmm…**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Yay! Reviews! They make me very happy. And it is because of these reviews that I have decided to give a little something away…**

**I understand that Edward's behavior is very confusing. Even Edward doesn't quite understand why he reacts to some of the things the way he does (I don't think he really understands the meaning of jealousy yet), but I do have a reason for most of his actions. Edward, as we all know, has quite the temper (at least in this story), and sometimes he blows things a little bit out of proportion. Well, not sometimes—basically anytime that anything happens that he is emotionally connected to in some way. So, when something happens, instead of giving the response that would be considered "normal" or "usual" or "moderate", he goes to the extreme on either end of the spectrum simply because his entire emotional system is slightly off-kilter. So, I hope that that helps to explain why Edward behaves so oddly. He really doesn't mean to. **

**Alright, and on with chapter five. This is just a sort of silly chapter that is stuffed with fluff, but it was fun to write. I think it might be moving too fast, but I'm not sure. And, just as a warning, there is a scene in this chapter that should make **_**no sense whatsoever**_**. You'll be seeing it from Bella's perspective, and it should be pretty evident that she is confused. However, it's all explained next chapter, so don't worry about it.**

**Okay, so remember to review! It makes me really, really happy! **

**Chapter 5**

"You have to accept it, Bella."

"No," I shook my head stubbornly, wrapping the blanket even more tightly around me.

"Bella…" Alice was completely serious, and slightly annoyed. "You know, it's not that bad of a thing to love someone."

"But I _don't_ love him, Alice," I choked out. "I _don't_. I'm just…" I wasn't sure that I could even explain to myself how I felt about her brother. Whatever I felt, though, it sure as hell wasn't love.

"Just what, Bella?" She was frowning at me. "Edward's had as bad a life as the next person. He deserves a little something in return for what's happened to him. Something like you, maybe."

"No," I mumbled, "he's an arrogant jerk, and…and…we're not compatible."

"How do you know?"

"I just do!" I cried, burying my face in my knees. "He's mean and bad and I don't like him and he's way out of my league, anyways…"

She sighed and got off of the bed, the metal springs creaking as she rose. "Bella, I'm not going to be the one to convince you, that's obvious. But you have to come to terms with yourself. You like Edward. You're attracted to him."

"Physically, yes," I muttered.

As soon as Edward had left and I had collapsed, Alice and Jasper had kindly enough left me alone. It didn't take a genius to see that they thought that I was in love with him. Otherwise, why would I have reacted to his words like I did? But they didn't know me well enough—he may have been pretty, sexy, even, but he wasn't my type. He wouldn't ever be my type, not so long as he was such a jerk. And as far as I could tell, he would always be a jerk; so I would never fall in love with him. I didn't care about the rest of my emotional turmoil—I'm sure it would work itself out. Those things usually did.

"Bella…" Alice sighed. "There are some things you need to sort out about Edward and yourself."

"Really?" I asked sarcastically.

Alice ignored me. "One—say, hypothetically, that you _did_ love Edward."

"But I don't love him."

"_Hypothetically._"

"How could I fall in love with someone I've barely known for five days?"

"Okay, fine. Infatuated. You're infatuated with Edward Cullen."

"No, I'm not."

"Hypothetically!"

I scowled. "Fine. Hypothetically, I'm infatuated with Edward Cullen. But why?"

Alice rolled her eyes. "He's tall, handsome, and mysterious—duh! And he's your employer! It's like a forbidden romance. Everybody loves a forbidden romance."

"You make it sound like I'm having an affair."

She shrugged. "Tyler probably views it that way."

I grimaced. I couldn't even stand to think of that guy—I held him at fault for Edward's and my tattered relationship and my extremely confused heart. "Alice, do you know how completely insane that sounds? I mean, have you even _seen_ what Edward looks like?"

She rolled her eyes. "Well, I have spent about twenty years of my life with him as my brother, so I'd have to say that, yes, from time to time I've glimpsed his face…"

"No, really—he's so…beautiful, and I'm so…not."

"Oh, Bella," she patted my hand in a very conciliatory manner. "You are drop-dead gorgeous, funny, smart, and fun to be around. Any guy would be lucky to have you."

I smiled at her. "Thanks, but I really doubt that—"

"Anyways," she continued, ignoring me, "you're _infatuated_ with him."

I nodded. I didn't think that pressing the issue that I had as yet to complete my thought would have helped anybody. "Okay, fine."

"Two—for some reason that is as of yet incomprehensible to you, he no longer likes you."

I sniffed. "Apparently."

"Alright. Three—this is, in fact, a forbidden romance."

"Alice, how can there even be a forbidden romance if one party doesn't like the other party?" She didn't seem to quite be thinking this through, unlike me. I saw every little flaw in her "hypothetical situation"—and there were a lot of flaws.

"Oh, right, you don't know why he's mad at you."

"He's not mad at me, he hates me," I said angrily. "And I think that it's stupid of him, whatever the reason may be." I wasn't about to tell her that it also made me very depressed.

"Well, if you were in his position, you'd be pretty mad at you, too."

"Thanks, Alice. That makes me feel so much better." I rolled my eyes. Maybe my sarcasm would distract her, though it wasn't doing a very good job of distracting me.

"Stop trying to get out of this discussion, Bella." Darn. Foiled again. "I'm going to give you a hint."

I grimaced. "Oh, like your other hint? 'Chemistry?' Please don't do something like that again."

She giggled. "I thought it was pretty funny—especially the fact that you didn't get it. But this new hint will clear all of your troubles."

"So why don't you just tell me?" If she was my friend, wouldn't she want all my troubles to be gone?

"You have to earn this knowledge, Bella."

"You sound like a movie quote," I said with a considerable amount of annoyance.

She snickered. "Well, the force is with me. But my hint is this—Tyler and Edward have more in common than you might think."

I gasped in mock horror. "They're _brothers_?"

"Urgh!" She threw her hands in the air in frustration. "Stop kidding around! What I mean is that they're similar in their feelings. They have similar feelings about similar things."

I frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"

She beamed and patted me on the back. "That's for me to know, and you to find out."

I sighed and flopped back on my bed. "Fine, whatever." I wasn't about to tell her that she was nearly the most exasperating person on the planet.

Of course, second only to Edward.

**ASADSFADS ASADSFADS ASADSFADS**

I slumped at my desk, gazing blankly at my computer screen. All of my plans to confront Edward and get him to explain Alice's hint to me had become moot. Why? Edward wasn't here. He wasn't anywhere to be found. As his secretary, I should have been notified if he was leaving, but apparently our relationship had come to the point where we weren't even able to communicate with one another. Well, fine. I would be having an even longer talk with him when he got back. As for now…I simply sat, fiddling with files and attempting to organize anything and everything I could lay my hands on, still pondering Alice's enigmatic statement. How on earth could my stalker and my employer be similar?

I sighed as someone knocked on my door, wearily dragging myself up to answer it. I opened the door, only to find Angela's smiling face looking cheerfully at me. "Hi, Ange," I said, slightly pleased that at least someone was here to share in my sorrow.

"Hey, Bella," she said, fidgeting slightly. "You know, I was wondering if you would help me with something."

"Of course." I bobbed my head. I hadn't realized it before, but I was actually dying to leave my office. Its walls were beginning to close in around me…I might have even started to become claustrophobic. It would have been nice if a certain _someone_ had been there to argue with, but, of course, he was missing in action. Typical. "What exactly is it?"

She sucked in her lower lip nervously. "Well, um…I was wondering if I could recruit you for Team Rose."

"What?" What on earth was she talking about?

She blinked at me curiously. "Haven't you heard? It's Friday."

I nodded. "Yeah. I know that."

"Don't you know what happens on Fridays?"

I shook my head.

She laughed. "Oh, then you definitely have to help! Seeing as how Edward isn't here, I'm sure you won't be missed."

I hoped she didn't see how much that comment actually hurt. "Yeah," I said monotonously. "Who cares, right?"

"Right!"

I sighed. At least I wasn't completely transparent. "So, what do you need help with?"

She gave me a sly smile. "Water gun fight. Today. Rose versus Emmett, in a battle of the lawyers. Whichever team surrenders first is the loser, and they have to buy a round of drinks for the winners at Martini's."

I giggled. "A water gun fight?"

She grinned. "Yeah, it's pretty cool. It gets our minds off of work, and it's a lot of fun, and really competitive. Basically everything is fair game—except for this area, of course. But that's only because Edward's never really wanted to…involve himself in these types of things." She looked at me knowingly, as if I would understand. The thing was, I didn't understand—I hardly knew the man, though I knew that I wanted to. And yet, despite our unfamiliarity, he was gaining an incredible amount of power over me…it couldn't possibly be healthy. All I knew was that I had to get my mind off of him. I had to focus on something, anything else. "So, we have a special task for you. D'you want to do it?"

"I'd love to," I said with complete sincerity.

She beamed. "Perfect."

**ASADSFADS ASADSFADS ASADSFADS**

"Alright? You know what you're supposed to do?"

I looked at Angela warily before nodding. I wasn't completely set on this idea, but I did need to keep my mind off of the enigmatic Edward…

She sighed with relief. "Great. So, just go in there and do your thing. Remember, act completely professional."

I took a deep breath and nodded again. "Of course." I then turned around and walked off through the door, carrying the documents in my right hand. The plan was simple—I would go into Emmett's room, completely peaceful, and give him the papers. They specified a rendez-vous point for Team Rose and Team Red (apparently, red was Emmett's favorite color—especially on Rosalie), where the two separate teams would meet up. Of course, Emmett didn't know that it was actually a trap…and I wasn't about to tell him. I also wasn't about to tell Angela that, if, for some reason, he happened to ask me if it was a trap, I would be unable to lie. Well, I would _attempt_ to lie…but I wasn't very good at it. Example: me pretending to be nice to Jessica. I wasn't fooling anyone.

So that all amounted to me walking casually through concealed door number one to Laurent's desk, taking a deep, cleansing breath before I casually rapped on the entryway to Emmett's office.

"Oh, come in!" I heard Rosalie cheerfully call from inside.

I frowned. As far as I knew, only Emmett and his teammate Laurent were supposed to be in the room. Was something going on that I didn't know about? Well, maybe Angela had forgotten that little detail. It probably didn't matter, anyways.

I put on a mega-watt smile, completely prepared to appear entirely innocent. There could be no doubt in his mind that I had nothing to do with the water gun war…that was the whole point, after all. I straightened my white blouse and swiftly turned the handle downwards, pulling the door open.

I screamed.

A jet of water hit me squarely in the chest, soaking me completely. Water blasted across my face and into my hair, making my head snap backwards with the shock of the freezing liquid.

"WHAT THE HELL?" I screeched, the soggy documents still clenched within my hands. I peered at the room through a fringe of my dripping wet hair, where a shocked Emmett, Laurent, and Rosalie stood. Rosalie was perched on Emmett's desk, her mouth hanging open, while Laurent was ogling my chest. Emmett simply looked like he would have been amused had he not been so surprised. I, on the other hand, was completely furious.

"Was this a set-up?" I shrieked. "Why?"

"Oh my God, Bella, I'm so sorry!" Rosalie gasped, hurrying over to me and dabbing at me with the end of her blouse. Her efforts to dry me were futile. "I'm so, so sorry—I thought that you were Jessica!"

"Do I look like Jessica to you?" I seethed. I knew I shouldn't have been so rude, since she did look genuinely apologetic, but honestly—_I was soaking wet._ I had my rights.

"No, of course not," she said, giving a breathy laugh. "Oh, this did not turn out well at all…" She snapped back around to glare at Emmett and Laurent accusingly. "Turn around, both of you! I'm going to need to find her some new clothes…" she sighed and turned back to me. "Did Angela send you?"

I nodded, my eyes narrowed. I intended to give her the cold shoulder until my body actually retained some heat. I hadn't noticed it before, but I was shivering.

"Oh, I told her to get Jessica," she said, giving me a wan smile. "I didn't tell her why, of course, I just told her my fake plan to sabotage my husband."

I snorted. So they _had_ set me up.

She looked upwards, frowning. "You see, Jessica has always been less than appropriate to the male members of our family, especially Edward, though as of late…" she gave me an odd look. "As of late she seems to have had the idea that he was interested in someone completely different than herself. Apparently his infatuation with a certain someone was obvious, even to her." She looked at me knowingly.

I blinked. I had the feeling she was hinting at something.

She sighed when she realized I had no idea what she was talking about. "Forget that for the moment, then—my point is that she…well…" Rosalie growled. "Emmett is married to_ me_, not to her, and yet she still seems to think he would be interested." Her nostrils flared. "As if. So I decided to prove to her exactly how uninterested he really was."

I rolled my eyes. Of course. _Nothing_ was normal about the Cullens—I shouldn't have taken it for granted when Angela recruited me. I should have realized that something was up, that there was some catch…but, of course, I had naively trusted them. This had just been about some petty, payback issue. But my anger was gone—if they wanted to be idiotic, that was their prerogative.

"Just get me some clothes," I said wearily, crossing my arms in front of my chest protectively. It hadn't escaped my notice that my top was see-through.

"Of course!" Rosalie said happily, glad I was no longer completely infuriated. "But let's get you to my brother's room…Emmett, come with me," she led me out the door and to my desk, dragging her husband along with her.

I remained silent as she continued to talk, mixing polite chit-chat with her profuse thanks that I was being so good about the whole ordeal. Honestly, I wasn't in the mood to talk. I just wanted to get warm. And preferably somewhere where I could see Edward's face, though I knew that was a far-fetched and nearly unobtainable fancy.

"So," she said suddenly as she brought me into Edward's office, smack dab in the middle of the room. "I'll go get you the clothing…" wait, what? Had she said something about getting me clothes? I really should have learned by now to actually listen when people began to speak…

"Uh, yeah," I said vaguely, hoping that she wouldn't make me say something that would show I had been paying her no attention whatsoever.

She beamed. "Wonderful! I'm glad you don't have a problem with it."

I gave a nervous sort of chuckle. "What would I have a problem with?"

She laughed. "Oh, you're so funny sometimes."

I gave a muffled sound of assent and wondered what exactly she was talking about.

"Anyways, Emmett here," she jerked her thumb towards her husband, "is going to stay with you until I get back with the…uh…clothes."

I nodded. Sounded like a good plan.

"Okay, great!" she beamed at me again before exiting.

I sighed and turned to look at Emmett. "So, um, what exactly am I supposed to do?"

He chuckled. "I knew you weren't paying any attention. Don't worry, I won't tell Rose."

I gave him a grateful smile.

"Well, first things first, I suggest you get out of your clothes."

I raised my eyebrow. "Excuse me?" Did he seriously think I would undress in front of him?

"Oh, no," he said, waving his hands defensively in front of him, "not like that. I mean, your shirt's leaving little to the imagination as it is, and Rose'll be here soon—I'm sure you want to get into something dry as soon as possible."

"Oh." What he said actually made some sense—I was glad to know that some of the Cullens happened to be slightly reasonable. "Okay."

"I'll turn around if you want," he offered, his frame already leaning slightly away from me.

I grinned. "That's probably unnecessary, anyways, as you said." I gestured to my nearly transparent blouse.

He laughed. "True."

I actually kind of liked this guy. Sure, Rosalie was nice in a…strange sort of way, and Edward was nice in a mean and confusing sort of way, but Emmett I felt like I could actually talk to. I was comfortable around him—he wasn't like Mike, and wasn't about to put any "moves" on me. I was perfectly safe.

I reached up to the first button of my blouse, my fingers fumbling as I attempted to release it from its hold. I growled in frustration when I did no more than make my fingers completely numb. "Damn," I muttered, rubbing my hands together to get some warmth back in them.

Immediately Emmett was by my side. "Need some help?" he said, smiling.

I heaved a sigh and gave a pathetic sort of nod. "Yeah…I'm not exactly the best with buttons."

"Rose isn't either," he said, grinning madly. True to form, I blushed deeply, though this just made him smile wider.

We stayed in that position for a couple of awkward minutes, when suddenly the door swung open. I couldn't quite see who it was out of my peripheral vision, but I assumed that it had to be Rosalie. "Oh, Rose," I laughed, "Thank God you're here—I really need those clothes…" I then noticed that Emmett had completely stopped in his task of unbuttoning my shirt, and had his gaze fixed on the doorway.

I rolled my eyes. "Come on, Emmett," I said, "Rose doesn't care. After all, it is your fault that I'm soaking wet."

"Um, Bella…?" he said slowly, his eyes widening.

"What?" I snapped. I was getting tired of his inactivity—I really needed to get out of these clothes. So, I took matters into my own hands and just shrugged my shirt completely off, tugging it over my head and tossing it with a smack to the floor. It was much more efficient—I should have tried that before. "Rosalie," I said, still very annoyed, "I need my clothes now. Please." I then decided to turn around, since she apparently wasn't going to just walk over and hand them to me like any normal person would.

I nearly keeled over at what I saw.

There, framed in the doorway, stood Edward, Mike, Jacob, and a man who I could only assume was Mike's partner, Eric. They were all gaping at the spectacle before them, clearly just as surprised to see us as we were to see them.

"Oh my God," I whispered. Now I understood why Emmett had frozen solid.

I knew the relationship I had with all of these men—Edward and I were currently on opposite ends of the spectrum, Mike obviously had a crush on me, Jacob had been an easy-going stranger who had helped me out when I had needed it most (and who apparently was the client on trial in the Black case), and Eric was just a completely unfamiliar entity. And I was acutely aware of the fact that I was practically naked from the waist up in front of them.

Humiliating did not begin to describe the situation.

**ASADSFADS ASADSFADS ASADSFADS**

I was an idiot of massive proportions.

Mistake number one—I had not listened when Rosalie specified what type of clothing she was bringing me, and so had ended up in Emmett's giant cocoon of a carrot costume.

Mistake number two—I had not bothered to check when Edward would be back, and so had been caught literally in the nude in front of four different guys.

Mistake number three—I was now in front of said guys, wearing said clothes, and feeling completely and utterly ridiculous.

You can't get much more idiotic than that.

I tried to act complacent as I sat in my old friend, the inquisition chair, and took notes on the conversation going on between Edward and Eric. Of course, that didn't change the fact that, as of an hour ago, my cheeks had been permanently stained red from embarrassment, and I could barely look at anyone without knowing that they were picturing me, well…indecent…but other than that, I was pretty much fine.

"So," Edward said, his tone completely business like as Eric tried to surreptitiously glance in my direction. It seemed to me that both he and Mike were under the impression that, the more they looked at me, the less I would wear. Suffice it to say, it wasn't working—thank God. Edward frowned, probably annoyed by their obviously perverted thoughts. "So," he repeated angrily, jabbing Eric in the arm.

"Uh, what?" Eric said, snapping around to face Edward. I rolled my eyes—could he be any more obvious?

"Let's keep this off the record, shall we?" Edward suggested coolly, still slightly put off. "Jacob Black assaulted a construction crew worker and wrecked about a dozen machines. The company's pressing charges, so we need to set a court date." He angled his face towards Jacob now—we had set up the room so that Edward and I were on one side facing the three other men; it was fairly convenient for talking to one another.

"So what?" Jacob asked, frowning. "I'm fully prepared to go to court on this. The public needs to know that what Matherson Incorporations is doing is wrong. They're trying to destroy ancient, cultural, and historical Quileute land. How could I just stand by and do nothing?"

Much as I was loathe to disagree with my employer (insert eye-roll here), I thought that what Jake had done was right. It was technically against the law, yes, since the company that was trying to destroy his land was within their rights—they had signed a contract with Forks, Washington—but that didn't mean that it was _ethically_ right. People had lived on that land for generations, and were still living on it—I couldn't believe that anyone would be greedy enough to want to transform it into a mall strip. It just didn't make sense. But, of course, I said nothing, merely nodding my head slightly whenever Jake brought his point up. I admired him for acting on his beliefs and taking a stand—it seemed pretty noble, at least to me.

And my obvious agreement with his behavior had not escaped Edward.

"I'm sure that Miss Swan and myself agree when we say that what you did was completely out of order," he said smoothly, careful not to look at me. I was trying hard not to let him know that I was seething, because it was obvious he was goading me—what for, I had no idea. But he apparently hated me. However, that didn't mean I was about to let him win by losing my cool. So I simply kept calm and said nothing.

"Yes," Jake said, smirking slightly, "I'm sure you do." He then winked at me, and I gave an involuntary giggle, hastily covering my mouth with my hand. Both Edward and Mike glared at him while he gazed innocently at me. I smiled in spite of myself—it was actually kind of funny, if I thought about it.

"So," Edward continued, making sure not to look at me though his lips were distinctly turned downwards, "I'm thinking sometime next month?"

"How about this month," Jacob quickly suggested, "let's just get it over with. And that way I'll be able to see Miss Swan sooner." He grinned cheekily at me, and I blushed. Edward glared daggers at him, while Mike looked distinctly put out. Eric, on the other hand, was trying to regain his professional demeanor.

"Of course," Eric said, coughing slightly. "Any time this month would be fine. We're prepared. Aren't we, Mike?" he nudged Mike in the shoulder.

"Uh, yeah," Mike agreed, turning his grimace from Jacob to Edward. "That would be great."

"And Bella, you'll be there, won't you?" Jacob asked, looking pointedly at me. He gave me a small smile, and that afternoon we had spent together seemed even clearer in my memory than before. I was reminded of what a nice guy he was.

"Of course, Jake," I said, smiling. I knew that everyone had seen we had dropped the formalities.

"But Bella will be very preoccupied with her work," Edward quickly interrupted, calling me by my first name for the first time all day. I suppressed my desire to roll my eyes. He was probably just overly protective since the Tyler incident, though it wasn't like I needed a bodyguard or something.

"I'll make time," I assured Jacob, leaning forward slightly and lightly touching his hand. Edward and Mike flinched.

I then realized just how much fun I could have with this situation. Mike was jealous, and Edward was obviously uncomfortable with romance of any kind when it involved me and another man…I could use this to my advantage, and get back at them for making my day so completely awkward and embarrassing.

"But Jacob," I purred, leaning even closer. His eyes became huge at my tone of voice. "Couldn't we see each other sooner?" I raised my eyebrows meaningfully at him, and he gave a small, "Oh!" of understanding. He then grinned wickedly.

"Well," he said seriously, "I don't know….how soon is soon?"

"How about tonight?" I asked innocently, making sure to slowly draw my hand away from his, lingering above his skin for just the right amount of time. Sure enough, it drove Mike and Edward crazy. They looked like they were about to pop, Mike with jealousy, and Edward with a distinct uncomfortable-ness that looked a lot like jealousy.

"Sounds like a date," he said. "Dinner and a movie, of course?"

"Of course—but what about afterwards?" I asked gravely.

"Oh, I'll think of something," he said suggestively, waggling his eyebrows. I almost burst out laughing at the combined shock of his sudden eyebrow maneuvering as well as the completely irate looks on the faces of both Mike and Edward.

"Oh, Jake, you're such a tease," I giggled girlishly, smacking his arm lightly.

"Not as much as you," he responded, completely serious. If I hadn't known we were just acting, I would have actually believed him. He was pretty convincing. I, on the other hand, probably looked like an idiot. Well, no surprise there.

"Bella," Edward gritted out from between his teeth, "I'm thirsty."

I blinked at him. "And?" I could see where he was going with this, but I was going to make him get there the hard way.

"And I would really enjoy a cup of coffee right now."

"Me, too," I said, nodding my head innocently.

He glared at me. "So how about you go and get yourself and myself a cup of coffee?"

I tilted my head to the side, looking as if I was thinking about it, before I said sweetly, "Of course, but someone would have to come with me." And I was being completely honest—if just one of these guys accompanied me, I could stroll by Jessica and Lauren and let them know that I could get a date _while_ wearing a carrot suit. Really, how many people in the world were that talented? They didn't need to know that I had been half-naked before hand—that was just a minor detail.

"I'll come," Mike volunteered immediately.

I beamed at him. "Great, and maybe you can help me out of this costume—it's really hot in here," I fanned myself nervously and gave a small sigh. Edward stiffened, while Mike looked very pleased. _Oh, get a grip,_ I said internally, mentally rolling my eyes. _You're just a pretty face, Mike. I'm not going to actually let you help to disrobe me…seriously._ But I wasn't about to say that out loud—I wanted both Edward and Mike to think that something steamy was about to happen.

"Is that alright with you, Edward?" I drawled out, blinking my eyes at him and trying my hardest to dazzle him as he so constantly did to me. Not that it would actually work or anything—he probably held no romantic interest in me. After all, how could he if he apparently hated me?

"Fine," he muttered, crossing his arms and pouting. I had to admit, he looked awfully cute for a twenty-seven year old man. Though he did look awfully cute most of the time…

_Gah!_ I shouted at myself. _He's your employer! And he hates you! And you're getting back at him! You don't have time for these thoughts!_

So I just turned to Mike and walked purposefully towards the door, flashing him a flirty sort of smile. He grinned right back.

This was going to be a lot of fun.

**ASADSFADS ASADSFADS ASADSFADS**

"So, Bella…"

I resisted the urge to scream. "Yes, Mike?"

"What're you doing tomorrow?"

I took a deep breath—that was the key, really—steady, deep breaths. They were calming. They kept me from completely ripping the exasperatingly annoying Mike Newton limb from limb. "Do you mean Saturday, Mike?"

"Uh, yeah…" he looked around warily as though he was wondering whether there was, in fact, a different tomorrow and he had just missed the memo. Ha! I wish.

"Mmm, I don't know, Mike, I might be busy," I said nonchalantly. I hoped that my tone would put him off—maybe he would finally understand just how disinterested in him I was.

"How about next Saturday?"

I had really overdone the flirting, hadn't I? "I'm not sure, I'll have to check with my flat mate…"

"What about the Saturday after that?"

Could this guy be any more persistent? You would think I was a restaurant he was checking for openings. "Mike, I haven't completely memorized my schedule. As far as I know, I'm busy for a while—starting my new job and all that." I hoped maybe he would take the hint and realize that I might be busy for a while. In his case, forever.

"Oh. Well, do you know of any free days?"

I pretended to think for a moment as I strode over to the coffee machine and refilled my cup. It was all I could do not to crush that flimsy little Styrofoam container within my hands. "Mmm…I don't think so, not off hand." _Please take the hint, please take the hint…_

"Oh, well, then I guess we'd better spend the time we have together getting to know one another better."

I smiled weakly at him as I turned around. I don't think that by "getting to know one another" he meant having an intellectually probing discussion between two like minds. I think he meant having an intimately probing discussion between two tongues, and in the most literal sense possible. "Uh, right…I have to…go check on Jessica…now…" I prayed to God that he would buy my excuse.

"Okay!" he beamed at me and hopped up, expertly tossing his empty cup of coffee into the trashcan with an audible _whish_ of air. He rubbed his hands together and strode towards the door of the tiny lounge, still situated next to the Cullen wing. "Ladies first."

I tried to grin right back, but only managed a twisted sort of grimace. "Mmm," was all I could say, edging past him and out the open door, power-walking as fast as possible without seeming too rude. What would I say I needed to talk to Jessica about? Something about the Black case?

I decided to wing it.

"Hey, wait up!" Mike called, jogging to stay by my side.

"Mmm," was all I said.

"So," he said, not even breaking a sweat—did he work out?

"So," I said flatly, continuing to practically run down the hallway. Jessica's desk was near, wasn't it? I hoped so. I really, really hoped so.

"So what about you being too hot in that outfit of yours," he said, smirking as he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. I wondered if it was because he had unintentionally made a pun or if he actually thought I had been serious when I had said my costume was too stuffy.

"Thanks," I said tersely. I would act as if he had just paid me a compliment.

"Huh?" he gazed blankly at me. He obviously didn't get his own joke.

"Actually," I quickly changed subjects—I didn't want him to feel like a complete idiot, "I'm kind of cold."

Wrong choice of words.

He grinned slyly at me. "Me too—maybe we could warm one another up."

I gagged unintentionally. "Um…" we were almost at Jessica's desk—I couldn't see over the edge yet, and knowing her, she was probably snoozing beneath her chair, daydreaming of Edward. I sped up and peered over the edge of the wooden desk, only to be crestfallen. Jessica, apparently, was off doing her job somewhere. Why did she choose now of all times to be competent?

However, this could initiate a change of topic.

"Hey," I said hastily, "she's not here—look at that, how odd…let's check Rosalie's office…" I snapped around and strode back down the hallway towards the Cullen wing, praying that Mike would suggest something like, 'Let's split up, gang!' or, 'You know what? All this running has made me kind of thirsty—you go on ahead while I get a drink of water.'

I had no such luck.

"Who cares about Jessica?" Mike said angrily from behind me. He sounded pretty darn frustrated with me. Well, get in line.

"Important stuff to attend to," I said simply, eager to cut him off. I was not going to have him try and make a move on me again—he had done it once before on Tuesday, and that was it. I was not caving again out of pity and against my better judgment.

"But _we_ have important stuff to attend to," he said. It sounded like he was trying to make his voice sound low and melodramatic, but only succeeded in sounding whiny.

I stifled a giggle. "Mmmm…"

I pushed the door open to the Cullen wing, flying inside and slamming open the door to Angela's desk. She looked up at me with her big blue-grey eyes and immediately went into apology mode.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry Bella I thought that it could be just anyone and I didn't know that she meant just Jessica and boy-oh-boy I am _so_ sorry and I can't believe…where'd you get that suit?"

"It's okay, Angela," I said, smiling kindly at her. I knew she hadn't meant to get me soaked by Emmett—after all, I hadn't meant to get me soaked, either.

Sure enough, Mike chose that moment to pop up. "Oh, hey," he said, taking a fleeting glance at Angela before fixing his attention on me. I felt the urge to remind him that there were two women in this room, and only one looked completely ridiculous—so whom should he focus on? Obviously not me. But, men will be men. "So, is Jessica going to be in here?"

Angela gave me a curious look while I made furious shushing noises with my hands. Luckily enough for me, Mike was too busy examining a fancy looking plaque hanging on the wall right above the desk. She gave me a quick nod of understanding before saying, "Oh, yeah, Bella—Rosalie wants to talk to you. Alone," she quickly added the last part, just to make sure Mike didn't get any ideas. Honestly, it would have taken a sledgehammer to be able to beat some sense into his brain.

I gave Mike a small, apologetic smile, trying to seem as if I was genuinely sorry that we had to part company. "You just go back to Edward's office," I said gently, patting him awkwardly on the shoulder, "I'll be back in a few."

"Oh, well, alright," he was noticeably unhappy. Well, that's what he got for not taking the numerous hints I threw at him. Though I couldn't help but wonder what it would have been like if I had spent those past twenty minutes with Edward…

**ASADSFADS ASADSFADS ASADSFADS**

After exiting Rosalie's office, feeling much, much happier than when I had entered (we'd spent about fifteen minutes commenting on the idiocy of the opposite sex—mainly Emmett and Mike—and had seriously bonded), I came through the door to Edward's office, humming a waltz softly to myself. I was surprised to find the room in complete disarray, with Jacob and Edward snarling at a cowering Mike who was being half-heartedly shielded by a clearly confused Eric. As soon as I entered, all four men turned to me and blinked, surveying their surroundings with apparent surprise. I could practically hear them thinking, "Us, fighting? Ha, ha, good one, Bella! You always were a kidder."

I raised an eyebrow. "What happened in here?"

Edward completely ignored me. "Have fun in the ladies' restroom, Bella?" For some reason that I couldn't quite understand, he looked extremely angry. Mike, on the other hand, looked very smug. Again, I couldn't see why.

"What?" I gazed at Edward, completely confused. "I was talking with Rosalie for the past fifteen minutes after Mike and I couldn't find Jessica."

Edward gaped at me as if I had just told him the secret of the universe was, in fact, the number 42. "W…what?"

I frowned at him. Was it so hard to comprehend that I could actually bond with his sister-in-law? "Um, yeah. Do you have a problem with that?"

He slowly swiveled his head around to glare at Mike with obvious distaste. "Newton," he said calmly. "Explain."

Jacob burst out laughing, Mike looked at the floor in shame, and Eric rolled his eyes, saying quietly, "Idiot," and hitting Mike's arm.

What on earth was going on in here?

Mike nervously ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah, well, Bella and I went out and had some coffee…then we ran around looking for Jessica, then that other girl in that other room told her that Rosemary or whatever wanted to talk to her."

Not a completely accurate summary, but fair enough.

Edward turned to gaze curiously at me. "Is this true?"

I shrugged noncommittally. "I don't see why it matters. But, yeah, that's what happened, in essence."

"In essence?" Edward once again became extremely angry. Mike regained his air of superiority and arrogance, looking like he had just scored the last, winning shot in a basketball game. Absolutely none of their reactions made any sense—what had I said?

"Well, Rosalie's name isn't 'Rosemary,' and that other girl Mike mentioned was Angela. But otherwise, that's what happened." I decided not to mention that Mike had been completely annoying and had hit on me numerous times, each as unsuccessful as the last—I had the strangest feeling that Edward might not have the best reaction.

Mike looked dismayed. "Well, in essence," he said quickly, again running his hands through his hair. I didn't see what the point was in taking that action, since his blond locks were already very disheveled.

Edward scowled and said curtly, "Mr. Yorkie—" I could only assume he was speaking to Eric, "—please escort your partner from this room."

Eric nervously tugged at his collar. "You know what? We'll just come again another day. Some other time. Later. Eventually. Not necessarily soon."

Edward just gave a stiff nod, and followed the slumped figures of Mike, Eric, and Jacob (who flashed me a quick grin) with narrowed eyes as they trudged back out the room.

As soon as the door swung shut, I turned to face Edward, hands on my hips. I was not about to fall for that whole "innocent and pouting and cute-tiny-person" act that worked so well on me with Alice. I was seriously confused, and Edward was the one seriously confusing me.

"Edward…" I said warningly, taking a step towards him and trying to remain as aggressive as possible. I was not going to back down, no matter how beautiful his eyes were or how he looked at me.

"Now, Bella, what did I say about keeping this a professional relationship?" he asked, smirking slightly as I stepped so close to him that we were only a foot apart. I noticed that his cockiness actually sounded slightly…forced, like he was doing it on purpose—like it wasn't something just ingrained into his personality. But I wasn't going to let that sway my resolve.

I prodded him hard in the chest. "Explain."

He looked at me from beneath his lashes, his green eyes smoldering. I suddenly found it very difficult to concentrate. "Explain what, Isabella?"

I had always hated my full name—but when it came off of Edward's lips…it sounded kind of nice. "Well, Ed," I returned—a full name for a nickname, I figured—remembering to poke him hard again in the exact same spot, "I happen to know that something fishy was going on, involving you and Mike and…" I blushed, but continued, "and apparently…me."

Edward smiled serenely, though it, like his supposed arrogance, seemed forced. "You are very perceptive."

I grimaced. "Thanks. But do you mind telling me exactly what was going on?"

He closed his eyes, still smiling. "Mike said something that I didn't particularly like. I reacted. That's all there is to it." He opened his eyes again.

Something was off about his story. He was editing. "You're fudging," I said accusingly, glaring at him.

He just kept smiling like some sort of idiot. Which, I had to remind myself, he was. It was strange, but as of late I had to keep telling myself what a jerk Edward was—it didn't just occur to me naturally as it had used to. "And? I'm sure you'll find out eventually, with your persuasive ways."

I wasn't sure if he was being serious or not. But, I decided I didn't really care—the thing I had learned about secrets was that, if you didn't ask, the person who knew the secret would eventually tell you. You just had to take away their momentum.

So I simply whirled around and stalked off. There was nothing left to say.

**ASADSFADS ASADSFADS ASADSFADS**

I sighed as I leaned backwards on the couch, gazing wearily up at the ceiling. "So," I said vaguely, "you're leaving, then?"

Alice plopped down next to me, patting my shoulder apologetically. "Jasper and I are just going to go on a date really quickly. We wanted some…"

"Alone time?" I suggested monotonously. I knew I was being selfish trying to keep her with me, but I craved company. My day had been extremely draining, and who knew if Tyler would decide to strike again? There was also always the fact that Mike had left me a message on the answering machine asking me out to dinner. How was I supposed to turn him down?

All in all, I'd had a very trying 24 hours.

She nodded sadly, but then beamed at me. "Don't worry, we're cutting it down to just three hours, so we should be back by eleven, twelve at the latest."

I was once again hit with a pang of self-loathing—I had become a burden on their relationship, even after all they had done to be helpful and be good friends. I, on the other hand, was a horrible friend—at least, I was sure acting like it.

"Well, have fun!" I said, making a much harder effort to sound cheerful. I don't think it fooled her, though she appreciated the effort.

"Call me if you need anything," she said simply, before standing up and waltzing out the door. I sighed again. I felt incredibly pathetic.

And then, to top it all off, the phone decided to ring. I groaned. If I picked it up, I would not only be admitting that I was alone on a couch on a beautiful Friday night, but I might also have to face one of my many ardent admirers—namely, Mike and Tyler. I decided it was in my best interests not to answer.

"_Hi! This is the flat of Bella Swan and Alice Cullen. If you're Tyler, GO AWAY. If you're Jasper, call Alice's cell. If you're anyone else…well, you know what to do."_ BEEP.

Then, that lovely, musical voice filled the stagnant air of the apartment. "Ah, Bella, I see that you've changed your voice message. Intriguing, really—if you change it every time I call, I might simply start phoning you out of pure entertainment and not because I actually happen to want to talk to you."

I gave a quick intake of breath. Before I even realized it, I had bounded over to the phone, shakily picking it up and saying breathlessly, "Hello?"

"Ah!" he chuckled, and, for some strange reason, that made me smile. "I thought you might pick up the longer I talked."

"Mmm," was all I managed to say.

He laughed again. "I wanted to suggest something—if you don't mind, that is."

"Er, no, I don't mind," I said quickly.

There he went again, laughing. "Alright. On Thursday, I noticed that our little afternoon bonding time was sadly cut short." Oh, right—Tyler had barged into that comfortingly quaint café.

"Yes," I said. "Right."

"I was thinking that maybe we should continue our little session. Say, tonight? Now?"

I blinked. "Come again?"

I good practically hear him smiling. "I'd like to take you out for some dinner, and get to know you better in the process. Unless, of course," he added, sounding cautious, "you find that objectionable. In which case…"

"No, no," I said hastily, "no, I mean…that's quite alright. Since, you know, I…was just working and…things."

I don't think that he believed me, but at least he pretended that he did. "Should I pick you up in fifteen minutes?" I grinned—only fifteen minutes to prepare—if I had been Alice, I would have freaked and demanded more time. But I wasn't Alice…so, instead, I prepared for immediate internal combustion as soon as I hung up the phone.

"Sounds alright," I said casually, though inside I was cheering. I don't know why I was cheering, but, apparently, I was.

"Then it's a date!" he said happily. "I'll come to your door—you needn't walk down."

"Thanks…" I breathed, my eyes wide as I heard the subtle click on the other end signaling that he had hung up. I, too, put down the phone, flopping to the floor.

What had brought on this change in his demeanor? He was acting so…likeable. It was like he was an actual human being with actual feelings, and not a complete jerk. I could almost picture myself being…friends with him. Or, having some sort of relationship.

What did this mean?

I didn't know, but I had every intention of finding out.

**A/N: So, there it is. I wonder, did anybody catch the reference to the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy? Hmm…it's in there somewhere, hiding. **

**I don't think that this was one of my better chapters, but it wasn't terribly important plot-wise…I've just felt the need to completely document the first week that Bella has at work. Next chapter, however, is kind of important. It's the traditional "Bella and Edward dinner date"—but with a couple of twists. Edward is suddenly going to become a lot clearer…so, there's the preview. **

**Alright…well, don't forget to review! **


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Sorry I didn't update for a while…really busy...anyways, on with the chapter. It's the typical Edward / Bella dinner date, but I tried to give it a few twists. It's mainly just them getting to know one another more, and for Bella to possibly realize that she unfairly judged her employer…but who knows?**

**Also, no offense is meant towards people who happen to like Raisinettes. **

**Disclaimer: …I own nothing but the plot. **

**Chapter 6**

"What would you like to listen to?"

I looked shyly down at my hands, blushing. I didn't even know why I was blushing—usually I had to have a good reason, but around Edward…perhaps it was because he was being so courteous, and such a gentleman—it was almost as if the past week had never happened, as if we were finally getting off on the right foot. There was also the fact that I was alone with him in his car, watching the dark road race by us, wondering about our destination. It had a very mystical effect.

"I like classical," I said softly, my hair falling into a curtain around my face.

He reached out his hand to tuck my hair behind my ear, getting a much better view of my face. I instantly turned a shade darker. "I enjoy classical, as well. Anything in particular? I have a diverse selection. And if that doesn't work, we can always listen to the radio."

I nodded tentatively.

He chuckled. "Where did all of this timidity come from? You're usually so…defiant. And…"

"Rude?" I suggested, raising my head slightly.

He shrugged. "Sometimes, yes. Though I can't say that I've been much better."

I smirked. "That's the most truthful thing you've said this entire week."

He sighed. "I was wondering when you were going to do that."

Immediately, I felt guilty. "I'm sorry. I just kind of…slip up sometimes, you know?"

He smiled. "No, I find it very enjoyable. I almost like being insulted when it's coming from you."

I didn't really know how to take that, so I resorted to looking through his collection of CDs. Mozart's 40th and 41st—typical, The Planets, The Nutcracker, Tchaikovsky's theme for Romeo and Juliet, and then…Debussy.

_He had Debussy?_

Ever since I was a little girl, my mother had flipped through fads like you flipped through channels. Gardening, yoga, painting, cooking…she dabbled in this, she dabbled in that, and she always changed her latest hobby within two weeks. But my favorite period, or possibly least favorite, had been when I was seven, after Renee and Charlie had had the "divorce scare." My mom had threatened to leave my dad if he didn't get some pizzazz back into his life, and I had truly thought they would separate. Classical music, especially Debussy, had been the only thing that kept me sane. I'd never forgotten what it meant to me then, and as the years progressed, its hold on me remained strong.

"Claire de Lune," I whispered, tracing the back of the plastic case with my finger.

"You know it?" Edward asked, looking at me curiously.

"I…" I didn't know what to say. "Yes," I said quietly, "it helped me through a very difficult period in my life."

"Oh," was all he said. I was thankful he didn't ask any more about it—I didn't like talking about it.

"Do you mind if I play it?" I asked. I, for some strange reason, thought he might object.

"Not at all."

I gently slipped the CD into the slot, and sighed as the beautiful music filled the interior of the car.

"You have a wonderful sound system," I commented, closing my eyes and leaning back.

He chuckled. "Yes, I get that a lot."

I turned pink and decided to change the subject. "So, where are we going again?"

"Somewhere special."

"And where would that be?"

"It's a secret, silly Bella."

I was sorely tempted to open my eyes and glare at him—after all, who calls me 'Silly Bella?'—but I was much too comfortable. I settled for merely giving a resigned sigh and sinking further into my seat, lying back and tipping my neck upwards.

Edward gave a strangled sort of sound next to me. Now, this made me open my eyes and squint up at him, concerned. "Are you alright?"

He was looking out the windshield intently, his hands gripping the steering wheel with unnecessary force. "Yes," he said, frowning. "It's just…would you mind very much if I asked you not to do that?"

I was about to give an angry, "Of course I would mind!" when I decided that, perhaps, I should learn his reasoning before shooting my mouth off. "Why?"

He blinked. Apparently, he had expected an irritable response. I was pleased that I had surprised him. "Well, it's hard for me to concentrate on driving with you doing that. I pride myself on being a very good driver—it wouldn't be terribly wonderful if I got us into a car crash."

I tipped my head to the side, confused. "Wait? Do you not want me to recline in my seat? Am I too close?"

He gave a slight, tight smile. "A combination of both."

I furrowed my brow. "What's that supposed to mean?"

He laughed. "Well, you have a very nice neck," he said, as if that explained everything I needed to know.

"Thanks," I said crossly. "Because that makes sense."

He laughed again. "Maybe, in time, you'll understand."

Now that really set me off. "What do you mean, 'I'll understand in time?' You sound like some sort of Jedi."

He quickly turned his head to give me a lop-sided grin. My heart sped up. "I'm not sure you would understand the feeling, unfortunately. At least, not as fully as I do. I think I'm further along in that emotion than you are currently, though it seems as though you're progressing, if this car ride has been any evidence."

He chuckled at my bewildered expression. "Never mind."

I frowned, but decided not to press the issue. That was for another time. Like, say, during dinner.

**ASADSFADS ASADSFADS ASADSFADS**

"And what would you like, sir?"

I gritted my teeth. I disliked that girl intensely—I didn't know why, but I did. She was our waitress, and even I had to admit that she was very cute. She had white-blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail, and a cute little ski slope nose with a slight splash of freckles. Even worse were her clear green eyes, like mint gum—they were lucid and refreshing. I hated her eyes almost as much as I hated the fact that she was a seemingly nice and decent person. Couldn't she have a horrible personality with her good looks, like Jessica and Lauren? I was actually mad at myself for hating her.

"Oh, a water would be fine," Edward said charmingly, flashing her a brief smile. I was slightly relieved to see that it wasn't my favorite crooked grin—perhaps that was reserved only for me.

She blushed lightly, and looked even more like a tiny little Barbie doll. "Oh, okay," she said shakily, before turning to me, still slightly pink. "And what would you like, miss?"

"Water," I said curtly.

"Alright," she said quickly. I think she got the hint that I was less than happy with her presence. Edward, apparently, got the hint as well, as he raised one eyebrow, clearly amused.

"Jealous, Bella?" he asked, smirking.

"No," I snapped. "I'm just…I don't like the ambiance here." I blushed even as I said this, mainly because there could never have been a less true statement. This restaurant, tucked away in some remote place, was absolutely perfect—in fact, if it hadn't been for that adorable and actually nice waitress, it would have been heavenly. The entire color scheme was a combination of several shades of blue, black, and silver—it gave you the feeling that you were in some aquatic location as well as some incredibly modern café. In all honesty, I loved it.

He frowned. "If you don't like it, I have a whole host of other restaurants that we could go to…I understand if you don't like it here, their chicken Alfredo is a little dry."

I blinked and barely refrained from snorting. Did he seriously think that one of their dishes being less than perfect would make me hate the restaurant? "No, I love it, Edward," I said, completely serious. "I think that it's amazing. I just…"

"You're just jealous?" he asked again, that infuriating smirk plastered to his face once more.

I scowled. "No." But his smirk just wouldn't go away, so I decided to change subjects. "So, getting to know one another. Right?"

His grin broadened. "A question for a question, I believe."

I nodded. "Sounds fair."

He positively beamed. "Alright, I'll start. Why did you choose to become my secretary?"

I hadn't been expecting that. "Simple, I saw in the paper that someone in your company needed a secretary. I liked the amount of money you paid, so I applied for a meeting with Victoria. I had no idea that, you know, the person was you, or I would have…" I trailed off. I didn't exactly know what I would have done.

"Would have what?" he asked curiously.

"That's more than one question," I said sternly.

He sighed. "Ah. True."

I smiled. "Alright. What happened today in the office, you know, when I walked in on you and Mike and Eric and Jacob…I mean, what had happened? What was with all of those weird questions?"

He looked calculatingly at me. "I'm not sure if you realized, but Mike is fairly attracted to you."

I snickered. "No, I didn't notice."

He furrowed his brow. "Really?"

I gave him a scathing look. "Of course I noticed. Why do you think I was doing all of that…" I blushed—I don't think he actually _did_ realize that what I was doing had been on purpose…and it was kind of embarrassing to admit that it had been.

He widened his eyes. "Wait, you were doing all of that…you were flirting…it was all intentional?" he started spluttering and choking on an ice cube.

I smiled innocently. "Answer my question, Edward."

He growled. "Well, since you so _obviously_ and _stupidly_ led Mike on, he came back from your little 'extended break' saying that…that you…" he screwed up his mouth and pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger.

I had noticed that every time he did that thumb and forefinger thing it was because he was having trouble controlling his emotions. "Are you alright?"

He wrinkled his nose in disgust. "No, Newton was simply being a—what's that word you do so love? Jerk? Well, he was being a jerk. A pompous, arrogant, egotistical, womanizing, degrading jerk."

I raised my eyebrows. "Wow, if you don't stop soon, you'll turn into me."

He sighed. "It was…he claimed that you two had, you know…" he raised his eyebrows suggestively.

I blinked. "That we kissed?"

"Ah…" he tugged at his collar uncomfortably. "Something along those lines…"

I frowned. "So, what was with the fighting?"

He rolled his eyes. "Perhaps I might have been angry."

"And what about Jacob?"

He scowled. "Perhaps he was angry as well. Perhaps we were both angry. Perhaps it's possible for two people to be angry _simultaneously_."

I grimaced. "I'm glad to see that you have no need for anger management."

He sighed. "It's possible that I overreacted. But he was just being so disgusting…even your boyfriend agreed with me." He squinted his eyes at me, as if I was somehow at fault for Mike's behavior. Which, come to think of it, I was.

I laughed. "Jake's not my boyfriend. We were just messing with your head."

He blinked, and then looked both relieved and extremely irritated. "That's…interesting."

I giggled. "Yup, Mr. Gullible."

He sniffed lightly, sipping his water before saying, "It's my turn, you know."

I took a deep breath. This should be interesting. "Fire away."

"What is the story with you and Tyler?"

Well, he got to the point quickly, didn't he? I stared intently at my glass of water, tracing the rim lightly with my finger. "We met in college, for my last two years. He was charming, sweet, helpful…you know, the type of guy that would call you four times a day just to tell you he loved you or give you gifts even when there wasn't an occasion." I smiled at the memory—Tyler had actually been really sweet.

"He sounds nice," Edward said stiffly.

"Mmm," I shrugged. "That was about for the first year. But then…his charm just kind of wore off. Soon he wouldn't call for weeks at a time, and I'd see him looking at other girls like he used to look at me." I sighed. "I knew it was time to end our relationship, but I just kept putting it off…and then, well, I caught him with someone else," _Lauren Mallory_, I added in my head, "and I called it quits."

"So when did the stalking start?" Edward persisted.

I frowned. "That's an extra question."

He scowled. "It's part of your story with Tyler. It's perfectly reasonable."

I rolled my eyes. "About a month after we broke up."

"Oh," was all he said, and took another sip of his water.

"So, you and Alice…" I said, tilting my head down towards the table so that I could only peek up at him through my eyelashes. Could I maybe dazzle the information out of him? I knew that Alice would never tell me, so he was my only chance.

Edward narrowed his eyes slightly. "That's not my secret to tell."

"Please?" I asked quietly. "Alice won't ever talk about it, so I'll never know unless you tell me."

"Then you'll never know."

"But I _need_ to know!" I said exasperatedly.

"Why?"

"Because!" I exclaimed, completely giving up on trying to dazzle him and settling for simple annoyance. "Because I need to know everything about you!" I blushed immediately and quickly added, "…and Alice."

He raised one eyebrow. "It's really that important to you?"

I nodded my head fervently.

He grinned. "So, what exactly would you do to obtain that information?"

I grimaced. "Something violent."

He flinched. "Well, be thankful I'm not a complete masochist, then, or I just might take you up on your offer."

I frowned at him. "Masochist? You? You couldn't bear to have pain inflicted on your being even if you wanted to."

He chuckled. "You'd be surprised—for the past week, that's been happening to me every single day."

What on earth did he mean by that? "Er, what?"

"If you were a man dying of thirst, and surrounded by water, but refusing to let yourself drink the water…wouldn't that be the least bit masochistic?"

"No, that's suicidal."

He rolled his eyes. "It's merely an analogy. The situation is not quite that desperate….yet."

"What situation?" I asked suspiciously. I no longer cared about figuring out what his spat with Alice was about—I now wanted to know what had him constantly bringing himself pain. To me, it seemed a lot more important.

He smiled serenely at me. "Didn't you want to know about myself and Alice?"

I blinked. "Yes, but—"

"Well, then let me tell you about it," he interrupted, completely ignoring me. Needless to say, I found it double suspicious that he refused to answer my second question and instead referred to the first. Apparently, he felt the same, for he quickly continued.

"Alice and I were always close as siblings. We were…kindred spirits, in many respects." Perky Alice and obnoxious Edward? Somehow, the two didn't exactly seem to be compatible. He chuckled at the confused expression on my face. "No, we weren't alike exactly—but we went well with one another. Though, of course, for being so close, I shouldn't have assumed that Alice would grow up to be a lawyer."

What? What did that have to with anything?

He continued. "For my entire life, Alice was the argumentative one, the one who always debated, who always won…she was very good at it, too. I just…never thought that she would ever choose a different profession. Very unperceptive of me, in hindsight, as Alice has never been one to conform to expectations." He sighed.

"By the time Emmett had finished college, he had met Rosalie and gotten married. The two of them both went to law school, and both were eager to become attorneys at law. They both wanted to create their own firm. And they, like me, assumed that Alice would become their third partner." Okay, so this made some sense—I could definitely see Alice being a lawyer, my mind's eye picturing the little pixie furiously cross-examining a completely freaked-out witness.

"So, they never asked Alice about whether she would want to join them when they went to get their contract signed with Murich and Co., and in it they agreed to have three lawyers. They told me the good news first, and so I was the one to break it to Alice. She then decided to let me know her true aspirations.

"She had never wanted to become a lawyer. She just liked to argue, and as she so vehemently stated, 'There's a difference between the two, you know.' But I hadn't known. I, too, had my dreams, but…" Edward seemed to shrink slightly as he said this, and he hunched forward. "But Emmett and Rosalie, my brother and sister-in-law—they were in a pickle. If they didn't bring in the three lawyers as promised…" he shook his head sadly. "So I became the third lawyer. I studied law, and promised that I would join the firm once I passed my exams, and so I did. We stuck to the contract."

"Edward, I don't want to interrupt, but what does this have to do with your argument with Alice?" His story made sense, except for that part.

Edward glared at the tabletop as if it were somehow irritating him. "I never forgave her for not being the third lawyer."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Ask Alice," he said simply.

I was about to respond with a no-doubt biting retort (though I had as yet to actually think of it), when that perky little waitress dropped by again, pen and pad in hand.

"Have you decided what you would like to order?" she asked sweetly, directing her attention to both Edward and me. Okay, so she wasn't trying to flirt, but she was still too pretty for her own good. However, I attempted to be nicer than I had been before.

"I'd like the duck," I said, careful not to give her the evil eye.

"Okay," she nodded and quickly scribbled that down. "And you, sir?"

"The salmon, please," he said, flashing her a grin. She blushed delicately.

Bah. Stupid, pretty people.

"Alright," she squeaked. "I'll be back with your dinner shortly," and she hurried off, clearly eager to be away from the strangely good-looking man and irrationally angry woman.

Edward snickered. "Hmm, you look adorable when you're angry. Perhaps you should be jealous more often."

I scowled. "Jealous? Who's jealous? You, of me? Well, I should think so."

He blinked. "Are you trying to change the subject?"

"I've no idea what you mean," I sniffed, gazing over his shoulder serenely.

He shrugged. "Well, my next question is this: what exactly is your relationship with Jacob Black? And tell me everything."

I rolled my eyes. I don't think that I was the one who was jealous here. I had the sneaking suspicion that Edward was being slightly protective of his employee. Well, I was going to prove him wrong. "He was the grandson of the book keeper in the book store that I ran to when, you know, I was escaping from Tyler."

"Ah." Edward winced.

"And so we got to know one another then. He was really nice about the whole thing—he helped me to hide in the back storage room."

Edward frowned. "If I had been in his place, I would have done something more, like call the police."

"Or find a crowbar," I muttered, staring down at the tablecloth.

He ignored me. "So you aren't…I mean, he doesn't have the idea…you two aren't…"

He seemed to be having trouble finding the correct words. I had a good idea of what he was trying to say—again, he was being much too protective. "No, we're not together in any way. We're just friends. Good _friends_."

"Oh." He sat up slightly straighter in his chair, his grin broader. "Well, that's…nice to know."

"Mmm," I said noncommittally, looking over his shoulder to see if that annoyingly nice and pretty waitress was on her way back over with our food. All of this talking was making me hungry.

"Actually," I said as Edward opened his mouth, ready to speak, "I have to ask you something. Not a question," I quickly added, "at least, not exactly. It's just, Alice gave me another hint."

"Oh?" Edward raised one eyebrow, amused. "And what was it?"

"Well…" I fiddled with my napkin. I wasn't sure that he would take this so well. "Well, she said that you and Tyler…you have something in common. Emotionally, I mean. And…yeah."

Edward stared hard at me for a moment, as if the longer he looked at me the clearer the answer would become. I don't think that it was working. "I'm not sure what she means my that," he said contemplatively, "because I doubt that she said it simply to be insulting." I giggled at that comment, and he shone me my favorite crooked grin.

"It probably is, you know, related to her other hint," I said shyly. I was sort of embarrassed about this topic—all of his actions had practically shouted that he wasn't romantically interested in me. Except for that kiss. But who could account for hormones or the sheer shock of the Tyler situation? I simply wrote that incident off as a passing fancy of his. It probably meant nothing to him—it was just me who couldn't get it out of my mind.

"Oh," he said, probably thinking of the same thing as me. "You mean chemistry?"

…Or not.

"Yeah," I said sourly. So he didn't even remember the kiss? He only remembered the chemistry part? Not that he just randomly went around kissing secretaries? Well, bully for him. I didn't care. Why should I care? He was stupid and arrogant and mean and pig-headed and chauvinistic and—

"And the kiss," he added solemnly.

—ornery and…oh. Well, that was alright, then.

"Yeah," I said, slightly giddy. "Yeah, that…"

He gave me a wan smile. "Yes, that."

"I…I never fully explained myself about the…you know, when you…kind of…" I fumbled for words.

"When I unabashedly and with great fervor strapped you to a chair and kissed you?" he asked, his eyes sparkling. Did he find this _humorous_?

"Yes," I snapped.

"I'm sorry that I behaved so oddly after that," he said calmly. "I was slightly…put out that you were not as…that you did not, apparently, respond in the way that I had hoped you would. My actions were irrational, and I apologize. It's just…it is hard to reign in emotions that you have only just begun to feel."

I gazed at him curiously. "What do you mean by that?"

He smiled wryly. "I'm glad that you have refrained from your usual reply of 'What?' It really is quite refreshing."

I scowled. "Stop trying to distract me."

"Whatever do you mean by that, Isabella?" he asked, blinking innocently at me.

"You know very well what I mean," I hissed. I needn't have added that he had an even bigger effect on me when he said my full name. It was strangely…alluring. I couldn't quite explain it.

"You never told me what it was about our kiss that you never explained," he said, smiling tranquilly.

I was surprised at my sudden upsurge of joy at his use of the word, "our." It had a very nice ring to it. "I…"

"Enjoyed it?" he asked hopefully.

"Well, yes, a tad," I admitted, blushing crimson. "But that's not the point. The point is that, well, if I wasn't in danger of losing my job, I would…I mean, we might actually be able to be…I might give you a chance with a relationship. Or something." I ducked my head down even further. He probably thought I was some sort of fan girl. He probably didn't even like me in that way, he probably just thought of me as some kind of emotional play-thing…

"Really?" I couldn't judge his facial reaction, since the only thing I could see was the tablecloth, but from what I could hear his voice sounded very odd. Was he ashamed of the fact that I might be attracted to him?

"I know, it's silly and weird and I should end it, but…"

"But nothing," Edward said, reaching across the table with his hand to turn my head up. He looked me straight in the eye, a wacky grin gracing his face. "I'm glad you enjoyed it. I did, too."

I blushed even darker. "But it can't happen again."

His face fell, though his hand stayed in place. "Is your job really that important to you?"

"Of course," I snapped. "I've dreamed of becoming a lawyer my entire life—I need this money. This is a high-paying job. I'm not going to put everything on hold just for, you know, a possibility." I knew that what I had said was harsh, but it was true—how did I even know that we as a couple would work out? The fact was, I didn't. And I wasn't going to gamble like that with my future.

"Oh," he retracted his hand. I would have been lying if I said that its absence didn't make me acutely unhappy.

I sighed. I really knew how to kill a conversation, didn't I? "Listen, Edward…let's just forget about that for the moment, alright? Now, tell me some more about yourself."

He gave me a critical look. "Like what?"

I shrugged. "Um, favorite genre of movie?"

"Why not just favorite movie?"

"Well, I don't know, that seemed like too generic a question," I said, slightly miffed. Couldn't he just answer? Why did he have to question everything I did? Why did he have the absurdly annoying need to know everything I was thinking?

"Well, it's horror," he said matter-of-factly, before giving me a sly wink. "It's very helpful, you know, with the ladies."

I coughed lightly. "Of course. And what about your favorite movie? Horror, I presume?"

"Hmm," he said, frowning slightly. "At the moment, I wouldn't mind seeing Invasion of the Body Snatchers, the original version. It's not exactly what I would call hard-core, but it has its moments. Despite the…title."

I smiled—yeah, it did sound pretty corny. "And your hobbies?"

He raised his hand warningly in front of me. "Ah-ah, Miss Swan—I deserve a question, too, you know."

"Alright, go ahead."

"What's your favorite flower?"

I blinked. What kind of a question was that? But I wasn't about to judge his motives—I had learned the hard way that no one could decipher the actions of Mr. Edward Cullen, not even Mr. Edward Cullen himself. "Um…freesias, I suppose," I said, "though I also like lilies of the valley and roses. The deep, dark red kind that the Phantom of the Opera would leave, you know?"

He chuckled. "Ah."

"And any hobbies on your part, Mr. Cullen?"

He took in a deep breath and gazed at the ceiling. "I enjoy playing the piano—it has been one of my great love affairs. Alas, I'm married to my profession, and, being as committed and honorable as I am…we can never be together." He gave me a wry sort of smile. "I don't expect you to fully understand, of course, but—I always wanted to be a concert pianist. Unfortunately…"

"You became a lawyer," I said softly. So that was why he was bitter—he hated what he did for a living, and he felt that Alice was partly to blame.

He nodded. "But what about you? Any hobbies?"

"Besides being incredibly argumentative," at this he gave a short laugh, "I enjoy reading classical literature. Constantly, really—especially the great romances."

He raised one eyebrow. "And what would you count among these?" I could tell he was trying hard not to laugh. He probably hadn't thought of me as a hopeless romantic.

I stared pensively at him. "You know, Romeo and Juliet, Wuthering Heights, Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Jane Eyre…"

He smiled, his eyes burning. "And what of those not yet written?"

I felt my breath catch in my throat. Why did his eyes affect me so? "I'll hold my judgment." I then gave him a calculating look—it was my turn to ask a question. "Why is your favorite color silver?"

He blinked at me. "How did you know that my—"

"Alice," I said hurriedly, wanting to get to the point.

"Oh," he nodded in understanding. "Well, if you must pry…"

"I must."

He sighed. "Very well, then. I've always been sort of like a…magpie, almost. Shiny things attract me." He looked at me sheepishly. "Silver has always been very shiny."

I giggled. "You like…shiny, sparkly things?"

He shrugged. "Yes. But I also like beautiful things, and things that hold great depth. Take, for example, your eyes." He gestured towards my face, his gaze smoldering. I could practically feel the heat coming off of my skin from my blush.

"Thanks," I whispered.

"You're welcome," he returned, his eyes still boring into me.

"So ask another question," I said, shifting uncomfortably in my seat. A girl could only go for so long with someone staring at her like that before she started to initiate her natural fight or flight response. I tended to go for "fight."

"Do you prefer Greek or Roman mythology?"

What on earth did he mean by asking me that? "Um, Greek, I suppose," I said, feeling very confused. Why was he asking such strange questions?

He nodded slowly, appearing very deep in thought. I was sorely tempted to ask him his opinion of Doric versus Corinthian columns, though I decided against it. Just because he was behaving oddly didn't mean that I had to, as well.

"Your favorite book?"

He chuckled. "You really enjoy giving me hard questions, don't you?"

"Well, it's fun to see you squirm."

"I'd have to say…Dracula. Of course, some of the passages are absurdly flowery and superfluous, but what else can one expect from the Victorian era?"

I scowled—I happened to like Victorian era writing very much, thank you. But I wasn't going to tell him that—he would just have to ask.

**ASADSFADS ASADSFADS ASADSFADS**

"And your check, sir," the perky little waitress shyly placed the bill in front of Edward. He whipped out his credit card and placed it in the plastic slip, grinning fiendishly at her.

"Wonderful service," he said, looking too handsome for his own good.

She blushed and stammered, "I…I…thanks, I mean…wow." And she scurried off, clutching the bill to her chest.

I glared at him. "I could have covered half of that."

He shook his head, smiling beatifically. "I couldn't let a lady pay."

My eyes narrowed imperceptibly. "Excuse me?"

"I couldn't possibly have allowed you to pay."

I shook my head angrily—I didn't care if we had just spent the last hour and a half having the most wonderful time, laughing and talking and sharing information with one another. That was still a very sexist way of looking at things. "You know, just because I happen to be a woman and you happen to be a man doesn't mean that I should be relegated to being a burden, and you should be pressured into dishing out the money."

He chuckled. "Believe me, you are anything but a burden. Rather, you've made my life wonderfully light, as of late."

I blushed, but retained my scowl. "Next time we do this—_if _we do this," I quickly added—not that I didn't want to repeat this little excursion, but just in case, "I am going to pay."

He shrugged innocently. "I may very well have to get physical with you if you attempt something like that, Miss Swan."

I blushed an even deeper shade of red. I wasn't sure if I wanted to know what he meant. "Well, we'll see."

He beamed. "Yes, we will."

The waitress promptly returned, fidgeting nervously as Edward quickly scribbled his signature on the receipt and pocketed his credit card. "Erm, thank you for coming to Onda's for the night. We, um, I mean, _I_,really enjoyed spending time with you."

"The pleasure was ours," Edward said easily, still looking like some sort of God.

"Yes," I said stiffly. "Our pleasure. You did wonderfully."

She gave me a very confused look—probably because my kind words contrasted wonderfully with the angry expression on my face.

Edward smiled and said softly, "Perhaps we'd better get going."

The waitress—I think her name was Emily, now that I bothered to look at her nametag—jumped in place and hurried to get our coats, blushing furiously. Why did she have to look so pretty? _Why_?

"Well, she was nice," Edward said pleasantly as he got up, stretching his arms.

"Very nice," I replied, frowning slightly. He said nothing, so I continued. "Very pretty, too. Good looking and all."

He raised one eyebrow. "Yes, I suppose."

I immediately felt sad. I didn't know why, but I had almost expected that Edward would pay me his usual comment, or at least deny her beauty. Apparently, I was wrong. I didn't know why it made me so depressed, and yet…

"But," he said, looking strangely amused, "she is nothing compared to present company."

I blushed. "Yes, well, you are very handsome."

He chuckled. "Why, thank you. I believe that that is the first compliment you have paid me all week." I blushed even darker. "Though, of course, I was speaking about you."

"Of course," I muttered, still flushed.

The waitress practically flew back to us, handing us our coats and immediately running back to a far corner of the room, her face a delicate pink. I could tell she was shy, and almost wanted to comfort her, despite the irritation she had caused me for the past few hours.

He extended his arm as soon as I shrugged on my coat; the perfect gentleman. "Shall we?"

I responded pompously, my nose high in the air. "We shall."

And we strode through the door together, arm in arm.

**ASADSFADS ASADSFADS ASADSFADS**

"Would…would you like to come inside?" I asked, fidgeting slightly as we stood outside the door to my flat.

"It would be very nice, thank you," Edward said politely.

I nodded slightly and unlocked the door, pushing it open and walking inside. "Um, so, you've been here before, I suppose," I said, frowning slightly. "It's not much, you know, but…it's my home, so…" I gestured vaguely at the white walls. Now that Edward was in it, a Michelangelo statue in the flesh, the room seemed horribly plain.

"It's nice," Edward said simply, shutting the door softly behind him.

I twitched. I found myself feeling very, very odd. I was alone with Edward Cullen in my apartment…with absolutely nothing to do. Well, at least, nothing appropriate.

"I, um…" I scratched the back of my head, searching for the correct words. "Would you like to…sit? On the…couch?"

He grinned at me. I found myself wondering whether he got his teeth bleached—that couldn't possibly be their natural color. "I would love to."

"So…" I seated myself beside him, twiddling my thumbs. "What would you like to, um, do?"

His eyes twinkled. "I can think of a few things."

"Naturally," I muttered.

He chuckled. "Alright then—how about you pick an activity?"

I tilted my head to the side and bit my lip, pouting ever so slightly. "Well, we could…watch a movie?"

His eyes widened and he looked dazed. "Er, could you repeat that?"

I giggled. "A movie?"

His eyes widened even further. "A movie…now?"

I nodded. "Absolutely. Why not?"

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "A movie…in the dark?"

I frowned at him. "Of course, we could keep the lights on, but that would ruin the effect of the TV screen's lighting."

"Mmmm…well, if you think it's best."

I didn't know why he was being so reluctant about the whole thing. Was he afraid of the dark, or something? I didn't really think I would be able to comprehend his actions even if I tried, so I simply gave up, hopping up and popping in Spirited Away.

"Hayao Miyazaki?" Edward asked, sounding amused.

I nodded, flicking down the light switch as the DVD whirred to life. "Yup. Haven't you ever seen it? I'm feeling really in the mood for an animated flick right now, honestly, and you can't get much better than Miyazaki." I hurried back over to the couch and sat next to him, fingering the remote.

Edward laughed. "I've never seen this before."

I gaped at him. "Seriously? Well, then we definitely need to see this. It's an amazing movie. Alice and Jasper should be home by twelve or so, so we should have a little bit of time to at least start the movie. And if they come in, well, they can just join us."

He smiled. "Alright. Whatever you want."

I didn't bother to try and analyze why that particular phrase made me feel insanely happy. I snuggled closer to him, eager for warmth—I was too lazy to get some blankets from the next room.

As soon as the movie began, I stiffened—I now knew why Edward had been so anxious—there was no way we could survive the full two hours or so length of the film. It would be impossible. My new-found overpowering urge to move closer to him, to somehow, someway get even nearer than I already was, was only overshadowed by the strange electric current that traveled between us. I felt the need to kiss him, or hold him, or touch him—anything, really—and I was sure, by his extremely rigid posture, that he felt so, too.

About three minutes or so into the movie, when Chihiro and her family were still driving in the car, I decided I could no longer stand it.

"Edward," I whispered, my voice ragged.

"Yes?" he replied, sounding just as strained.

"Perhaps…you were right. Maybe a movie wasn't the best idea."

He gave a jerky nod. "Perhaps."

I took a deep breath. "Unless…"

"Unless what, Bella?"

I wanted to say, "How about we just give in?" but I knew that would never work. If you give into temptation once, it becomes harder to resist later on—it was hard enough resisting it now. So I simply said, "Never mind. It was a stupid idea."

"Mmm," he grunted.

About five minutes later, it was getting to the point of being unbearable. I had actually scooted to the other end of the couch, and my eyes were so wide from staring at the TV screen that I'm sure I looked like Macaulay Culkin in Home Alone. I decided that the only other way I could occupy myself would be by talking.

"So…do you like the movie?"

He sighed and shifted slightly in his seat—I had a feeling that he was just as uncomfortable as I. "This character Chihiro is rather a spoiled brat, isn't she?"

I could only hear his voice, not see his face, so I had no idea whether he was joking or not. But honestly, I didn't care if he _was_ joking—Chihiro was my favorite character. "Excuse me? What exactly do you mean by _that_? She happens to be a wonderful character, thank you."

He sighed contemplatively. "I knew it."

"Knew what?" I asked, frowning.

"That you were going to do this."

"Do what?"

"You know," I could tell he was getting slightly irked by my inability to read his mind. "I give my opinion, and you immediately shoot it down. It's like you can't even attempt to look at things from my point of view."

I scowled. "What? That is the stupidest thing I have ever heard. I am completely open-minded. I'm practically a window, I'm so open."

"Windows can be closed, Bella," he said dryly.

"You know what I mean," I snapped.

"There you go again—why do you have this irresistible urge to be so snappish towards me? What exactly have I done wrong?"

I blushed deeply. Not because he had a valid point—because he _didn't_ have a valid point—but because here I was, watching an animated film with my employer, and he decided it was time to point out Bella's flaws. It was slightly embarrassing, to say the least. "A lot of things," I said, sniffing.

"Like what?" He was definitely annoyed—no doubt about that.

"Like things! Like being a jerk and…you know."

"No, I don't know," he said angrily. "I don't think that you _do_ have a reason, actually, Bella. You just love to hate me, if you'll forgive the clichéd expression."

"Just watch the movie!" I growled, hugging a pillow tightly to my chest.

"With pleasure," he returned coolly. I could practically feel the anger exuding from him, though his outward appearance said that he was completely calm.

We definitely didn't have a healthy relationship.

**ASADSFADS ASADSFADS ASADSFADS**

"Do you have popcorn?"

"No."

"Raisinettes, then?"

"_Raisinettes?_ What the hell are Raisinettes?"

"You know, chocolate covered raisins."

"Why the hell would you want to eat those?"

"I happen to like raisins, Bella."

"Dried grapes. You like dried, packaged grapes coated in cheap milk chocolate that has a name that sounds like a dancing troupe."

"You don't need to get so angry about it. You could simply say, 'No, I don't have any Raisinettes,' and move off of the topic."

I growled. For the past hour, Edward and I had done nothing but get on one another's nerves. He wanted this, he wanted that—I, of course, was being the perfect, reasonable, angelic hostess who happened to be extremely annoyed by the actions of her guest. It wasn't exactly my fault that Edward was particularly exasperating—and I was pretty sure that ever since our discussion at the beginning of the movie about why I acted the way I did towards him (which, by the way, was perfectly reasonable), he wanted to somehow irk me in every way possible just to get back at me. It was completely immature. It was also annoying enough to get me to overlook the electricity that passed between us—at least, to get used to it. It was practically bearable by now.

There was a pause, and I could tell that he was glaring at me without even having to look at his face. "So…no popcorn?"

"God!" I threw my hands in the air. "Do I look like a vending machine to you?"

He sniffed. "I'm just saying, most people have popcorn in their houses."

"Well, I'm not most people."

"Obviously," he said dryly, reclining even further back against the couch.

We only lasted another two minutes before we began bickering once more.

"Don't you like No-Face?" I asked suddenly, and rather harshly—truthfully, I was baiting him. I knew perfectly well what he would probably think of that character, but I wanted him to voice his opinions. It gave me another reason to be annoyed with him, and another reason to get on his nerves. I simply thought of it as serving to him what he had served to me.

"He's a stalker," Edward said simply. "And suffers from more than one of the seven deadly sins." He chuckled grimly.

"What? Gluttony?" I asked, narrowing my eyes at him.

He nodded. "Yes, and greed."

"Greed? How is he being greedy? He's giving away gold!" I didn't feel the need to point out that the gold was, in fact, fake—Edward really didn't need to know that.

"But only so he can attract Chihiro to him, or to attract other people—he just wants to eat them. He's being greedy, keeping them to himself. Luring them in. Disgusting, really."

"I think he's sweet," I declared proudly, staring haughtily at the screen.

"Of course you do," he said flatly. "You seem to have that opinion of most stalkers."

My temper flared. "What? Why are you bringing Tyler into this?"

"I didn't say anything about Tyler."

I sneered. "That's what you were implying, Edward."

"How can you be sure of that? Couldn't I just as easily have been talking about Mike? It seems I am not the only one to make assumptions, Miss Swan."

I couldn't believe he was bringing that up, but I wasn't about to let him know that that particular topic made me absolutely furious. "Mike," I hissed, "does not qualify as a stalker. Only an admirer."

"He's a wolf," Edward said disdainfully. "He's only after one thing, of course."

"Whatever can that thing be, Edward?" I asked as sweetly and innocently as possibly, though I'm sure he didn't miss my undercurrent of sarcasm.

"Why, your wonderful carrot suit, of course," he replied.

I scowled. "After all, that is the most attractive thing about me."

"Except for your acerbic personality," he responded.

"Thanks," I said acidly.

"My pleasure," he returned, with just as much venom.

I grimaced. "You are absolutely aggravating."

"Huh," he snorted. "I seem to have that same impression of you, Miss Swan."

"Maybe. But I'm not half so exasperating as you."

"I wouldn't place a bet on that."

"Oh, you wouldn't?" I knew that I shouldn't let him provoke me, but this was simply too much. This was my flat and my couch and, God damn it, he was not going to insult me in my own territory—the office, fine, a café, maybe—but definitely not my own flat.

"I wouldn't."

I scooted closer to him, leaning over and poking him hard in the chest. It had become my favorite activity as of late. "Want to wager on that?"

"I don't bet," he said firmly, not even flinching as I prodded him with even more force.

"Oh, really?" I snapped. "And you wouldn't change your mind for anything in the world?" I poked him again.

"Well, would you be quiet for anything in the world?"

"No," I said snidely.

"Well, then, no," he said, mimicking me.

"Oh, I bet I could make you bet on this," I said, glaring at him. "It wouldn't take that much. Just some duct tape, and a chair, and a trip to Sephora's…"

He glared right back. "Well, I'm positive I could get you to be silent."

"You think so?" I snarled, scooting closer to him. I prodded him again.

"Yes, I think so," he responded smartly, leaning slightly forward.

"Yeah, well, I think that you're just full of—" but I was unable to finish my sentence, for as soon as I attempted to open my mouth once more, he pulled me into his lap and kissed me.

**A/N: Gasp! Well, you can make up all sorts of scenarios about what happens from then on, because you won't learn until next chapter…which is taking forever to write. And sorry if Bella seems a little, ah, moody—in all honesty, she doesn't know how to act—one second Edward's a jerk, the next he's nice, then he's a jerk…all of those personality changes on his part make for some bad judgment calls on hers…**

**Anyways, preview of next chapter: the 24-minute flu rears its ugly head, and Lauren might just say something rather deep…**

**Please, please, **_**please**_** review. It helps a lot to know what people think about my story. In fact, it's so inspirational that it causes my fingers to type at lightning speed! So, just click that pretty little button at the bottom of the page…you know you wanna…**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: So, I was thinking to myself as I wrote the beginning of this chapter, should I take the road less followed or something like that? And then I said, "Nah…" After all, someone had to stop them eventually. This story is rated T, after all.**

**Also, Edward is not a vampire—his thing about Bella's neck will be explained somewhere south of here. **

**Disclaimer: Once upon a time, a girl didn't own Twilight. The author, Stephanie Meyer, did. End of story.**

**Chapter 7**

"Who the hell flipped the light switch?"

I shoved Edward away from me—which was very difficult, since I was in his lap—and snapped my head around to glare at whoever had just opened the door and turned on the lights. I was simultaneously surprised, annoyed, and embarrassed to find Jasper and Alice gaping back at me, their jaws hanging open and their expressions extremely confused.

"What…are you doing?" Alice asked after a moments pause, looking slightly dazed.

"Watching Spirited Away," I said, blushing. At this point, Chihiro was running away from No-Face. I, too, felt the desire to run away, but from someone much more terrifying—Alice.

Edward coughed lightly and straightened his shirt. I blushed even harder when I realized that he was no longer wearing a tie. I was almost positive that he had been wearing a tie when we sat down to watch the movie.

"Good evening, Alice," he said courteously, dipping his head.

"Oh, don't '_Good evening_' me!" she snarled, looking positively furious. "You…you little seducer, you, trying to…to…" she spluttered incoherently for a few moments before saying in a scandalized voice, "She's my best friend!"

"I'm well aware of that fact," Edward stated, fiddling with his shirt. I frowned—I really wished he would stop drawing attention to the fact that his top three buttons were undone.

I ran a hand through my hair and laughed nervously. "Wow, this is, uh…wow."

"Bella," Alice said, blinking angrily at me, "what would you do if you walked into _your_ flat with _your _boyfriend after a wonderful night on the town looking for _your_ flat mate and best friend and near-sister only to find her _macking_ with your _brother_ on your _couch_. What exactly would you do?"

I grinned sheepishly. "Er…I would...just…"

"Forget about it?" Edward suggested mildly.

"No one asked for your opinion, Ed," Alice snapped.

"Just my two cents," he said serenely. I really had to admire the fact that he was able to keep his cool around her. It seemed that he was gaining more control over his temper.

"Edward, I think that it's best if you leave," Jasper said softly—he had been standing silently behind Alice, probably contemplating what was best to do. And knowing the chemical reaction that occurred whenever you put Alice and Edward in the same room together, he was probably right—Edward should just leave.

"I'll show you door," I said quickly, standing up and straightening my skirt. It did not escape my notice that it had somehow lost six inches lengthwise while I had been on the couch…I hurriedly pulled it down, turning beet red.

"I think I can find it," Edward said sarcastically, narrowing his eyes at me. I had the feeling he was mad that I, of all people, wanted him to leave.

I raised one eyebrow. "Alright. Have it your own way."

He nodded curtly and stood up, brushing off his shirt. "My apologies Alice, Jasper," he looked at both of them in turn and then strode towards the door.

"Yeah, well, don't think you can do it again," Alice said angrily, crossing her arms and glaring at him with more than a necessary amount of malice.

I rolled my eyes and walked out the door right behind Edward, closing the door behind me quietly. "Edward," I whispered, my eyes fixed on the back of his copper colored head.

"Yes, Bella?" His voice was subdued. He turned slowly around to face me. I wondered vaguely how he could look so good even in this dim lighting.

"I had a really good time tonight. Thanks." I blushed.

He smiled slightly. "Even with the fighting?"

I nodded. "Even with the fighting."

He took a step closer to me, staring up at me from beneath his lashes. He really needed to stop doing that, or soon I'd start forgetting how to form coherent sentences. "Bella?"

"Y…yes?" I said breathlessly.

He smirked. "Having trouble breathing?"

I narrowed my eyes at him, but couldn't manage to actually be angry. I found his arrogance to be kind of…endearing. A week ago that would have shocked me, but with Edward…I was starting to accept the fact that where he was concerned, nothing was normal.

He sighed, still smiling. "Well, I had a wonderful time, too, Bella."

"Um…sorry about Alice," I said, rubbing my arm self-consciously.

He laughed. "Don't worry about Alice. She's harmless, really."

I frowned. "Well, you don't live with her."

"I used to."

I blushed again. I recalled our dinner conversation—Alice and Edward had a broken relationship because of some stupid job mishap. It felt awkward talking about her in his presence. "Yeah," I said quietly.

He smiled sadly and stepped closer to me. "I'd like to do this again, some time. Say…tomorrow?"

I chuckled. "That's so soon!"

He immediately backed away, wary. "Unless, of course, you'd rather not. I completely understand if you—"

"Of course I want to," I said, stepping towards him. We were now barely a foot apart. He leaned forward slightly, closing the gap to six inches. "But we have to keep this purely professional."

He gazed down at me, his eyes wide and green and so, _so_ pretty. "That might be slightly difficult, Bella."

"Why?" I asked, tilting my head slightly upwards.

"Because," he leaned his head down until his lips grazed mine. I sighed and wrapped my arms around his neck, fully prepared for a goodbye kiss.

Then, of course, Alice decided to slam the door open and ruin the moment. "I knew I couldn't leave you two alone!" she shrieked, stalking over to us and sliding her hand between our faces.

"Alice," I groaned, glaring at her.

"Bella," she mimicked me, putting her hands on her hips. "You!" she said angrily, shoving Edward in the shoulder. "Leave. Now!"

He shrugged apologetically at me. "Goodbye, Bella," and he flashed me my favorite crooked grin.

"Bye, Edward," I said shyly, turning my head towards the door. This was an awkward parting, to say the least.

"Yes," Alice said acidly, pushing me through the entryway and back into the flat. "Bye, Edward."

I sighed as I felt Alice's small hands clamped around my upper arm, forcing me onto the couch. "Explain," she said very threateningly, her blue eyes narrowed to slits.

I laughed nervously. "Explain what?"

"Explain why I will never again be able to watch Spirited Away again without feeling deeply disturbed!" she exclaimed, throwing her hands into the air.

"I just kissed him, that's all, Alice." I was slightly exasperated, to say the least. Was it really such a crime if I kissed her brother? Well, to Victoria it was. I blanched—that reminded me. I could lose my job.

"You weren't just _kissing_," Alice hissed. "You were necking. Snogging."

"Making out?" I suggested.

"Yes! And that is so…so…"

"She's at a loss for words, the situation is so terrible," Jasper said dryly.

"Look, I know you hate Edward, Alice," I said kindly, "but I'm a big girl. I can do what I want."

She sighed and flopped down on the couch next to me, her anger suddenly vanishing. She, like Edward, could go from angry to weary in mere seconds. "I'm sorry," she said pathetically. "It's just…I mean, I really didn't expect to see that."

I frowned at her. "Weren't you the one who was encouraging me to 'fall in love with him'?"

She smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, but…I didn't expect to, you know, see it first hand. To be honest, I didn't think you'd actually fall in love…at least, not so soon."

"Just because we kissed doesn't mean we're in love."

She snorted. "You may not be, but he sure as hell is."

I blushed. "Don't say that, Alice. It isn't true."

She smirked at me—I noticed that she had a striking resemblance to Edward when she did that. "Trust me. I know my brother. He's not just attracted to you anymore—it's deeper than that. I think you've seriously got him stumped."

"But he's not in love!" I said, giggling nervously. Edward Cullen, _the_ Edward Cullen, in love with me? Plain, old Isabella Swan?

She rolled her eyes. "Oh yes, he is."

I didn't know how to react to that statement, so I just stayed silent.

"And…I'm sorry for over reacting," she said, looking down at the floor. "It was kind of…stupid of me, so…" she suddenly stopped talking and leaned down, frowning. "Is that what I think that is?"

"Is what?" I asked innocently, leaning down to see what she was looking at. I immediately turned bright red.

It was Edward's tie.

She sighed deeply and straightened up, turning to face me. "Oh yeah. He's definitely in love."

**ASADSFADS ASADSFADS ASADSFADS**

I had never particularly hated the number three. It had always seemed like a golden number, almost, a yellow, happy color. Three was healthy. Three was joyful. Three wasn't winning, but you still got a top spot. All in all, three was alright.

Of course, this was before I received the three calls.

The first had been Mike. I had woken up at around seven, still clutching Edward's tie, only to have my morning "moment" disrupted by the shrill ring of the telephone. I groggily picked it up, and with more than a little amount of annoyance snapped, "Hello?"

"Oh, Bella! Hey!"

I groaned internally. "Oh, hey…Mike."

"Yeah," he paused uncomfortably before continuing. "So, you, uh…had breakfast yet? Because I, um, would really enjoy, you know, taking you out to get some breakfast to talk over the Black case. At eight or so."

Was there really a point in me reminding him that I was, in fact, Mr. Cullen's secretary, not Mr. Cullen himself? Or that I knew what he had "claimed" yesterday, and was not fully prepared to give him my good graces? I didn't think either would do much good. "Yeah, um…I'm sick…" I said flatly, giving a pathetic cough and wiping my wrist across my nose, sniffling.

Apparently, my poor performance was enough to convince Mike. "Oh, wow, I hope you feel better, Bella." He sounded genuinely apologetic. Huh. Too bad I thought he was an arrogant prick.

"Yeah, thanks. Bye."

And I hung up.

The second call was fifteen minutes later, but from a decidedly better source—Jacob Black.

"Oh! Hey, Jake."

"Hey, Bella. I was just wondering where you were last night."

"Last…night?" What on earth was he talking about?

"You know, that date we arranged?"

"Date?" I was pulling a blank here. Wait—he thought I had been serious? This wasn't good. "Oh, yeah, the date!" I said, laughing nervously. "Wow, how time flies, huh? Yeah, I'm…sick. Sorry." Again, a pathetic cough and sniffling. And, again, he bought it.

"God, I hope you feel better, Bells."

"Thanks," I said, smiling. I actually liked Jake—just not _that_ way. Maybe my indifference would clue him in to my disinterest. "Bye."

The third call was not so pleasantly received.

"Bella?"

"Tyler? Oh my God. I'm blocking you. I'm getting a restraining order. Really, I am."

He ignored me. "Want to get breakfast?"

I scowled at the phone, oblivious to the fact that he couldn't actually see me. "No, I don't. And besides, don't you have plans with _Lauren_?"

"Well, yeah, but I'll ditch her if that means I can get you."

"Your honesty is not the least bit charming," I said bitingly.

He paused, and then continued. "So, are we on? I'll pick you up now—I'm outside your building, as it is."

My face lost all color. I really should get a second lock on the door. "As much as I'd love to," he would have to have been exceptionally thick not to hear the sarcasm that permeated my voice, "I'm sick. Achoo."

And, yet again, my story was taken without complaint. I had a feeling that all of these men were either surprisingly dim-witted (which wasn't that hard to believe), or they thought that I was a lot weaker than I actually was. Immediately, I wanted to prove them all wrong. So when Edward phoned, I decided that I would prove to myself that I was not just another damsel in distress—I would be strong. I would be a woman. I would make _Edward_ weak in the knees, and not the other way around.

"Bella?"

"Yes, Edward?" I had to stiffen and clamp my hands on the edge of the couch not to immediately melt at the sound of his voice. It was kind of undermining my desire to be strong.

"I was wondering…would you like to get breakfast with me? In order to delve a little deeper into one another?"

I sighed contemplatively and twirled the phone cord, my eyes irresistibly drawn to his tie that lay forlornedly on the coffee table. "Um…"

"I mean, we could do lunch instead. Or, you know, just wait…I mean, today's your day off, but I would really like to…I mean, if that's okay with you…"

Was it just me, or was the unfazable Edward Cullen actually nervous? "Alright," I said slowly, deliberately drawing out my vowels so that he was hanging onto my every syllable. "I guess that would be okay…pick me up at seven forty-five, alright?" I knew it was now turning seven thirty-seven, but honestly, I was proving to myself that I was in control. And if I was in control…he would do as I said.

And, surprisingly, he did.

"Seven forty-five? Sounds great. I think we should go to—"

"Actually, Edward," I said pleasantly, cutting him off, "I'm going to drive. You'll just have to leave your car in my parking space. We're taking my car, and we're going to a place of my choosing."

"But—"

I could hear his exasperation, but I wasn't about to let him win. I would be the one in charge here. "So be quick, alright? I don't want Tyler abducting me while I'm waiting for you."

And I hung up.

Of course, at the time, this sounded like a good idea. In retrospect…not so much.

**ASADSFADS ASADSFADS ASADSFADS**

"What is…that?"

I stifled a giggle with my right hand at the spectacle before me. "It's a car, Edward. Or at least, it was last time I checked."

"That," he said, eyeing my truck with obvious distaste, "should not be allowed."

"I think it's rather wonderful, actually," I said, smiling happily. It didn't escape my notice that, though he was complaining about my car…he wasn't taking matters into his own hands and just walking away. He was doing as I said. I mentally thought, _Good doggie. Now roll over._

Of course, directions like that are much more complicated in real life.

He circled my vehicle, obviously inspecting it. "This heinous red color looks like some sort of dried tomato."

"My favorite," I said solemnly.

He scowled at me. "For having such a wonderful taste, you really don't have such wonderful taste," he smirked slightly as I turned beet red. Why did everything he said somehow get me flustered? Of course, the insinuations of his statement were obvious, even to me.

"Look," I said, grimacing—after all, _I _was supposed to be the one in control, not him, "either we're taking my truck, or I'm taking Mike up on his offer and going out to breakfast with him."

Edward noticeably paled. "Mike asked you to breakfast?"

I nodded, smiling slightly. Now that I knew Edward was interested…I was fairly sure the emotion I had mistaken for an employer's protectiveness was actually a severe case of jealousy. Not that I didn't enjoy it, of course.

He growled. I raised one eyebrow—did most people growl? Or was it just him? It seemed more like a Cullen trait than anything else. "Why that little punk…"

I chuckled. "Punk?" I rolled my eyes and hopped into the front seat, patting the leather seat next to me and wiggling my eyebrows suggestively. I rolled down the window, saying innocently, "Who knows? If you got in this car, maybe we could put the backseat to good use…"

He was inside in two seconds flat.

I blinked. That worked surprisingly well. Deciding to now completely ignore him, I then put it into gear, pushing down lightly on the pedal and easing out of the parking space. I was too busy concentrating on the parking lot around me to actually notice Edward pouting beside me.

"Don't I get a prize, Bella?" he asked piteously.

I was really rather glad that I couldn't see his eyes smoldering—because I was positive that they would, in fact, be smoldering—because if I did I might just lose control of the wheel and, in my passion, send us swerving into oncoming traffic. "Be careful," I said seriously, "or my eagerness to give you your prize might just send the car careening into a wall."

He snickered. "Fair enough. I guess I'll just have to wait."

After about three minutes of comfortable silence, he started to flip through my CD collection.

"Pink?" he asked in shock after about one minute of silently analyzing my selection of music. "You have Pink?"

"Yup," I nodded my head.

"Is there a story behind this?"

I turned my head to briefly narrow my eyes at him. "What do you mean? Am I not allowed to like her music or something?"

"…No…but…"

I frowned—he had taken too long of a time answering that question, in my opinion. "Oh, so if I like classical I must hate pop and all modern music? And, of course, since I'm a girl and a brunette I must be smart and have no fun?" I glared at the windshield. "That is so stereotypical, Edward."

He immediately became defensive. "I said nothing of the kind, Bella."

"Yeah, but you were thinking it," I snapped, huffing and squaring my shoulders. Why was it that he would be sweet one moment and bad the next, like some sort of real-life, inedible Sour Patch Kid?

"How do you know what I was thinking?" he bit right back.

"I just…it's so obvious!" I blurted out, barely refraining from throwing my hands into the air from exasperation.

He grunted. "Let's get off of the subject. We obviously won't agree."

"Fine," I gave a curt nod. "Find the Little Miss Sunshine CD, then, and put it in."

"Devotchka?" he asked questioningly.

"Yup. Got a problem with that?"

"Not at all," he said blandly. I heard a vague shuffling of plastic CD cases before The Winner Is started sounding through the interior of the car. Despite my truck's clunky and antiquated appearance, it actually had a fairly good stereo system. I sighed and leaned back, most of my anger dissipating.

"Ah…" I sighed, my shoulders un-tensing and my chin tilting upwards. "Hmmm…"

Edward made a strangled sound next to me, very much like the one he had made in the car last night on our way to the restaurant. "What is it now?" I asked, sighing. "My neck, again?"

"Yes," he admitted grudgingly.

I smiled, still very relaxed. "Do you have a neck fetish or something?"

I could practically hear his teeth grinding next to me. "…Perhaps."

I giggled. "And you have a thing for shiny objects? Wow, the list is growing."

"I am intrigued with everything concerning you, Bella," he stated simply, his clothes rustling as he shifted in his seat.

He apparently knew how to shut me up, since I immediately turned bright red and ceased my teasing of him. It was really quite unfair that he had such a hold over me—after all, wasn't I the one who was supposed to be in charge? But where Edward was concerned…I shook my head in annoyance. I didn't even try to understand why he affected me the way he did.

He tapped his fingers against the window, sighing. "So, where are we going, again?"

I decided to take a leaf out of Alice's book. "If I told you, I'd have to kill you."

He was silent for a moment before saying, "You've been living with my sister too long, haven't you?"

I scowled.

**ASADSFADS ASADSFADS ASADSFADS**

Fate had never exactly been on my side. Even when I was little, bad luck just seemed to sort of follow me around, like a tag-along stray puppy, or Mike Newton. But, either way, I didn't enjoy it. It made sense that now, of all times, it decided to rear it's ugly head in the form of three couples.

As soon as Edward and I had entered the restaurant (I had decided on the American Café), an unusually preoccupied waiter had seated us at our table, glancing at the door distractedly every two minutes. I rather liked him because of his unimaginably bright, cherry red hair—I was positive that it had been colored with a marker or at least streaked with food dye. There was also the fact that he obviously showed no interest in Edward and would not make me…annoyed…for the rest of the morning. That was always a plus.

"So, what would you like?" the waiter asked, clearly bored. He fingered his pen and frowned at the orange creamsicle colored wall behind us.

"A black espresso with blueberry pancakes," Edward said simply. "And you, Bella?"

"I'd like the Hearty American meal," I said, smiling serenely as Edward's mouth dropped open.

"Um, Bella…?" he said warily, gazing down at the menu, "That's bacon, sausage, eggs, and toast with the Philadelphia flapjacks…are you sure you want to…?" he trailed off, his eyes widening.

I raised one eyebrow. "What? Can't a girl have a hearty appetite?"

"But your arteries…" he mumbled, furrowing his brow. I wasn't exactly pleased with his response—he shouldn't find it unacceptable for a woman to eat what was usually considers a "man's meal". I would just have to revolutionize his thinking. Well, that was fine with me.

The waiter, on the other hand, was completely accepting of my choice—in fact, I would have doubted that he had heard it had he not quickly scribbled it down and walked off, still glancing at the door ever so often. I liked the guy, despite his aloof attitude.

Edward coughed lightly and placed his hand on my elbow. I turned my head slowly and gave him a small smile. "Yes?" I was almost positive that he would start lecturing me on my meal choice.

I didn't understand why, but he looked extremely worried—what did that have to do with my order? "The door," he mouthed, nodding his head towards said entryway. I frowned and whipped my head around to see was he was gesturing at.

"Oh my God…" I whispered, immediately sinking downwards in my seat.

There, in the doorway, stood Mike Newton chatting amiably with his apparently good friend Eric Yorkie. I turned beet red and shrunk into my coat like a turtle would into its shell. How on earth did these people keep finding me? Did I have not one stalker, but three?

"I think we should leave…" I whispered, blinking at them from the depths of my jacket.

Edward sounded just about as pleased as me. "I think it's a little late for that, love." And he was right, of course, because Eric and Mike were soon followed by Tyler and Lauren, his arm draped casually over her shoulders and her nose held haughtily in the air. I practically slipped beneath the table at this point—I actually wanted to become invisible. Anything but this, really.

"How are we going to get out of this one?" I asked, my voice barely loud enough to hear over the din of Amy Winehouse blasting through the speakers.

"I don't think that we are," Edward replied, scooting closer to me.

Then Billy Black and Jacob decided to stroll in, their inky eyes scanning the interior of the restaurant. I ducked my head down, trying my hardest not to be spotted by any of the three couples—I had told them all I was sick. What was I supposed to do now?

So much for being in control.

**ASADSFADS ASADSFADS ASADSFADS**

The first to spot us was Billy Black. His onyx eyes widened in surprise before he hurriedly glanced down at his meal, trying not to tip Jake off to our presence. I really had to thank that guy later. But, of course, Jake decided to be smart and perceptive, and so looked at where his grandfather had been so avidly staring…only to find Edward and me. Needless to say, we soon found ourselves pressured into joining their table.

I seated myself uncomfortably between Billy and the edge of the aisle, fidgeting with my fingers. "Hi, Jake," I said, trying to sound excited and failing miserably.

"Hey," Jake replied nonchalantly. "I thought you were sick."

It didn't take a genius to see that he was slightly hurt. And, in all honesty, I didn't want to hurt Jake—I thought he was a great guy. "Yeah, twenty-four minute flu," I said lamely, causing Edward to double over in laughter. Luckily, he quickly disguised it as a coughing fit, though when Jake offered to perform CPR he decided that his airways were, in fact, fine.

Billy I don't think bought my story, but he probably had the same idea as me—if Jake didn't _need_ to know, then we might as well not tell him.

And, naturally, once Jake spotted his lawyers, he decided that it was only courteous to invite them to our table. So our table of four became a table of six. Luckily enough, Lauren and Tyler had chosen to sit in the smoking section—obviously, they both desperately needed to smoke during breakfast—and so didn't see us. At this point, I was considering that pretty fortunate.

The waiter approached our table again, pencil and pad in hand, still looking acutely preoccupied and…nervous? I couldn't be sure. He raised one eyebrow at our table, clearly bemused—I couldn't say that I blamed him. It looked like we were a troupe of bunnies, mushrooming on the spot. "And what may I get you, sir?" he asked Billy.

"Coffee. Black." Billie said shortly.

"Mm-hm," the waiter nodded his head. "And you?" he glanced up briefly at Jacob.

"Coffee. Black." Jacob repeated, smirking at his grandfather who was giving him a perturbed stare. "And the Hearty American Meal, please."

I beamed at him. "I'm getting that one, too, Jake."

He grinned. "Great minds think alike, I guess."

Edward scowled. "Not necessarily."

I sighed. _Of course_ they wouldn't get along. Because everything just worked out that perfectly.

Mike, of course, decided that he, too, had to have the Hearty American Meal. The way things were going, I would have a lot on my conscience when their arteries finally clogged all the way up—I was what was inciting this sudden food-lust, after all. I sighed as Eric, too, ordered the Hearty American Meal. This was just perfect—now Billy and Edward were going to look like the normal ones. Bah.

The waiter reappeared, wielding our plates like swords and sticking them beneath our surprised faces. For such a scattered personality, he sure was exuberant when it came to serving food. I gulped as steam wafted off of my three sausages, three bacon strips, three pancakes, three pieces of toast, three waffles, three sausage patties…sure, three was a magical number, but weren't there limits? Besides, there was no way I could eat this much. Jacob and Mike, on the other hand, were patting their stomachs in anticipation. Eric looked about as wary as me—at least there was someone I could relate to.

Edward smirked at me and whispered under his breath, "You know, I could help you out…it seems like you'll be having some trouble with that _manly_ meal."

I scowled. Damn him. He knew that that would annoy me to the point of making me eat the whole darn thing. I took a deep breath and set to eating, shoveling a sausage into my mouth.

I was a third of the way through my second flapjack—Jacob had already cleared his plate—when the real trouble began.

"So," Billy said, waving his coffee spoon at me. "What do you think of me changing the outside of the store from that dopey-blue to something a little more woodsy?"

"I think it would be wonderful," I said truthfully.

He smiled. "See, I knew you would understand. Jake here," he jerked a thumb in said person's general direction, "doesn't want to because that would mean more work on his part."

Jake just shrugged innocently. "I simply think the blue's darling, Papa," he said sweetly, batting his eyelashes.

I giggled. "Absolutely, Jakey-poo."

Edward glared daggers at his coffee.

"Actually," I said, now being serious, "I think that you should go for a theme of—" I gasped and unintentionally said, "Hahh-ah-ah-ah…" Billy and Jacob looked at me oddly, questioning my strange behavior—of course, they didn't realize that Edward's hand was slowly working its way up my thigh, starting at my knee and rubbing little circles into my skin. It was so infuriatingly divine that I feared I would pass out. To prevent this from happening, I quickly slapped my hand down on his and dug my nails into his palm, fixing a grin on my face.

Edward jerked away from me, but was unsuccessful in his attempt to escape from my hand's death grip. "She means hot pink," he said, grimacing slightly.

I glowered and kicked his shin. His eye twitched.

Billy's eyes widened. "Hot pink? Isn't that sort of…"

"Of course not hot pink!" I said hurriedly. "What I meant was, do something cultural and relating to old Quieleute legends. That should be good." I would have released my hold on Edward's hand, but I was terrified that he would do something like that again…it might just force me to jump him. And that would completely dash Mike's dreams. I wasn't that cruel.

There was also the fact that it was totally inappropriate in such a public setting, though that was only a minor problem.

Billy nodded in understanding. "Ah. Go for the native stuff, eh?"

I smiled. "Absolutely."

Jake grinned slyly at me. "Any other tips?"

My smile weakened ever so slightly. He wasn't flirting with me, was he? After all, I only thought of him as a good friend. There was also the problem that Edward's hand twitched, probably itching to resume his previous activities in response to Jacob's advances. I would have tried harder to stop him again, but I was too flustered. This situation was simply too weird.

"I have to go to the bathroom!" I blurted out, standing up in a blur of movement and shoving my chair out behind me. Actually, I just needed to get away from Edward and Jacob. But I decided not to let them know. Instead, I clutched my stomach and whispered dramatically, "Feminine problems."

"Oh." All five masculine faces blinked in surprise before hurriedly examining the table before them and resuming conversation. I noticed, to my amusement, that they were looking anywhere but me. I snickered slightly and sped off to the bathroom…idiots. Didn't they realize that that was a typical girl's excuse to _get the hell away_?

Apparently not.

I slipped into the bathroom, breathing a sigh of relief and splashing my face with ice-cold water. This was starting to seem almost like a dream—a strange, warped reality—I mean, what were the chances that I would end up at the same restaurant as Mike, Eric, Jacob, Billy, Tyler and Lauren? Seriously, what were they—a million to one? I took a deep breath and raised by head from its bowed position by the sink, shrieking when I noticed the person next to me.

"Lauren!" I gasped, quickly exhaling and inhaling. "What are you doing here?"

She glared at me. "What does it look like I'm doing?"

I scrutinized her aggressive stance in front of the mirror, hands on hips and leaning at a 160 degree angle.

"Looking at yourself?" I suggested.

She sniffed. "No, I'm doing the same thing as you."

I blinked, and then it dawned on me. "Escaping?"

She gave a short nod.

I was confused. "But then why…?" I was struggling for words—how could I phrase this without seeming completely rude?

"Why am I with Tyler?" she snapped.

I nodded, mute.

"None of your business, Swan." She resumed gazing at herself owlishly in the mirror, flipping her hair from side to side seeing which way it looked better.

"Do you love him?" I asked quietly. Her silence was answer enough. "Do you even _like_ him?" I continued incredulously—I had always held the opinion that each relationship had to have a small amount of love, even if it was only lust or physical attraction. I simply couldn't quite wrap my mind around the fact that Lauren didn't feel any love for Tyler at all.

She turned to face me, her eyes narrowed. "Does it really matter what I feel for him?"

"Of course!" I exclaimed. "Why wouldn't it? I mean, you're fifty percent of the relationship, aren't you?"

She snorted. "No, actually. I'm just a third wheel."

I tried not to smirk, but I couldn't help it—this was just too ironic. "Is he cheating on you?"

A small smile flitted across her face, and for a brief instant, the hard edges of her angry features were gone, replaced with a bitter-sweet sadness. She actually seemed sort of pretty. "Somewhat."

"Who is it?" I asked quietly.

Her answer seemed almost like the clinical diagnosis of a doctor. "You." She chuckled harshly at the look on my face. "Oh, yes, Swan, he's never gotten over you. Not even in college was he over you…" a wistful look came over her face. "I know he's not the best boyfriend a girl could ask for, but on his good days he's handsome, sort of charming, and spends some time on me. I settle."

"You shouldn't have to," I said angrily.

"Well, you don't need to be so pissy about it," she snapped right back, and returned to examining her reflection. "It's not like it's your relationship, anyways."

But Lauren couldn't understand why I was so furious. I had told Tyler to stay away, that I held no interest…and he still had the gall to treat Lauren like a piece of garbage. I couldn't stand that sort of behavior—it made my skin crawl. Worst of all, she was just willing to accept it—she wouldn't even take a stand.

"I'm going to talk to Tyler about this," I declared suddenly, a powerful emotion surging through me—confidence, maybe? I couldn't tell. All I knew was that it was white-hot, and I was angry as hell.

"Excuse me?" Lauren seethed, slamming one hand on the faux-marble sink top with a smack. "Absolutely not. I only have one boyfriend, Swan," she hissed. "That's right, count 'em—_one_." She held up her index finger to further emphasize her point. "I'm not like you—I don't have five suitors lined up at my gate to try and catch me when I fall. I don't have someone else. It's just him. And I'll be damned if I let him get away." She threw me a disgusted look. "If I were you, I would just put the poor boys out of their misery already. It's clear you're only interested in one of them."

I gaped at her as she stalked towards the doorway. Where had that outburst come from? I'd just been trying to help.

However, before she left, she decided to speak once more. "Oh, and Swan? I'd watch out for Victoria, if I were you. I don't think she'd approve of breakfast dates with your employer." And with that, she strutted out, slamming the door behind her.

I suppose it was then that I began to feel nauseous.

**ASADSFADS ASADSFADS ASADSFADS**

I returned to the table in a sort of daze. The world around me seemed to be moving around in oddly bright colors, where everything was sharpened and in focus. I felt like I had super-senses of some sort…the clarity of my vision was astounding. There were Tyler and Lauren, arguing as they walked out of the store, Lauren turned towards Tyler and Tyler turned away. There were Mike and Eric, Eric clutching his stomach and mouthing words of prayer to ask for forgiveness for having ingested so much food. Mike, in turn, was eyeing the single flapjack left on my plate, as well as the two sausages and three strips of bacon. _Just take them…_I thought wearily. In the bathroom, I had thrown-up all the bits of nourishment that had been unfortunate enough to end up in my stomach. I was nearly positive that I was sick.

I walked towards Edward, swaying slightly on my feet, hit on all sides by more smells and sounds than I could imagine. My ears were ringing.

"Edward," I rasped, touching his shoulder lightly. "Edward, I need to go."

He snapped his head around, his green eyes wide and worried. "Okay," he said softly. "Can you drive?"

I shut my eyes and shook my head. I knew that I had started the day wanting to be in control, and I was wont to suddenly give up my power…but in the interests of safety…

"Bella, are you alright? You look kind of pale…" the concerns of my friends floated to my ears, sounding subdued in comparison to the clatter of Jake's fork on his plate and the steady munch-munch of Mike's teeth as he crunched on one of my bacon strips.

"I'm fine," I muttered hoarsely, opening my eyes to slits and clutching Edward. "Let's go," I said finally, in what I hoped was a firm voice. "Let's go now."

"Alright," he nodded and stood up, gently leading me out the door.

"Hey!" I heard the cherry-haired boy called. "Hey! You've gotta pay, Sir—you've gotta pay!"

"Don't stiff him, Edward," I murmured.

His voice was stern. "I'll send him a check."

I was too tired to argue. "Hey," I said weakly, "maybe I really do have a 24 minute flu…"

That got him to laugh. I was glad. I liked hearing Edward laugh. "Let's hope not."

"It would be nice to be sick," I said quietly. "Just for a little while."

He chuckled grimly. "That's what they all say until it actually happens." We walked for about a minute, and then he asked, "Your keys, Bella?"

I shoved a hand into my coat pocket and rummaged around. "Here they are," I said, pushing them into his hand. "Take good care of my car, okay…?"

I could nearly hear the smile in his voice. "I'll do my best. I can't promise that it won't fall apart on the road, though."

I wanted so badly to smack him. But I was just so tired…

I suppose it was the fact that I had not, in fact, hit him that alerted him to how sick I actually was feeling.

"Oh, Bella," he sighed, lifting me gently into the shotgun seat, "you're going to drive me crazy, one of these days…"

"My goal in life," I murmured. My head had started to pound, and the pulses of pain were blocking out all of my other senses. I could barely think, and my throat felt unreasonable dry. "Thirsty," I said quietly. "So thirsty."

And then I fell asleep.

**ASADSFADS ASADSFADS ASADSFADS**

"Oh, God, what did you _do_ to her, Edward? Did you, like, squish her with your gigantic ego?"

"Excuse me? _My_ ego? I'm not the one smothering her constantly and dousing her with makeup."

"Really? I'm not the one who's completely careless."

"Careless? I'm extremely cautious, thank you."

"Uh huh? Then what's your tie doing here, Mr. 'I'm-So-Cautious'?"

"I…that was not my fault."

I groaned. Why wouldn't the voices just _shut up_ already?

"Bella! You're awake!"

"OhmyGodareyouokay?"

"W…what?" I blearily opened my eyes, immediately shutting them—there was simply too much light.

"Silly Bella—how are you?"

Now I could confidently put names to the voices. That had to be Edward—only he had the gall to call me 'Silly Bella'. And of course that had to be Alice with him—she and I were the only people he could truly bicker with.

"Ickle-Eddikins," I said hoarsely, smiling with my eyes shut, "a pleasure to know you stayed with me."

"The pleasure was all mine," he said smoothly.

Alice, on the other hand, sounded distinctly disgruntled. "She called you _Ickle-Eddikins_ and you let her get away with it? You don't even let Esme call you that!"

He gave an exaggerated sort of sigh. "You see what I have to go through to see you, Isabella? My sister. A fate worse than death."

Alice countered with the very eloquent retort of, "Shut up, idiot."

I coughed. My throat felt like it was on fire. I opened my eyes again and gazed upwards, vaguely making out two blurry black shapes above me. "What happened?" I said quietly, almost so quietly I doubted whether they could actually hear me.

"Oh, Bella, my idiot brother here took you to a restaurant with food poisoning—can you believe it?" Alice said tragically, sounding as if she were some sort of victim.

I didn't feel the need to point out that I was, in fact, the one that had chosen the restaurant. "Mmm," I said, nodding my head slightly as if I completely understood her point.

"I am so not letting you two go out alone after this. You'll just get yourself into trouble." She crossed her arms and leaned on her hip very authoritatively.

Edward sniffed. "Trouble follows her around, I think, Alice. You really shouldn't bring me into this."

"S'your fault, Edward," I mumbled, "…for making me stay. We could have skipped breakfast or something…"

"Perhaps that would have been best," Edward said sadly. "It seems as if you won't be able to come to work tomorrow."

Was it just me, or did he sound slightly depressed? "Part of the plan," I said softly. "Less hours for more money. I do get sick leave and pension and what not, right?"

He chuckled softly. "I'd give those to you even if you didn't."

I smiled and closed my eyes again, determined to drift back to sleep. But, of course, Alice had not finished with me yet.

"And what's this I hear about yet another man in your life, Miss Swan?" she said threateningly, prodding my shoulder.

"Ow," I moaned.

"Sorry," she said apologetically, before continuing with a slightly less amount of force. "I seem to think that a certain someone named Jacob Black has a little thing for you, hmmm? And just when exactly did you become so popular?"

"As soon as her beauty, wit, and intelligence graced the world," Edward said very poetically, brushing some hair back from my face. I smiled.

"Ugh," Alice rolled her eyes. "You two are sickening. Really."

"I thought it was sweet," I said quietly, grasping Edward's large hand in mine. I frowned—it seemed as if he was abnormally cool. Though that was probably just my own body temperature being high in comparison…

Edward sat down next to me on the bed, and I wiggled over towards him to that I could be closer. "Do you want to be held, Bella?" he asked, sounding thoroughly amused.

"Yes," I murmured, "you're like my own personal ice pack."

He grimaced. "Ah."

"And my own personal Shakespeare," I added.

His grimace deepened. "And what about your own personal Romeo?"

I yawned and snuggled into him. "You can only be so many things at once, Edward. Try out for that part later."

Alice snickered. "Keep deflating his ego like that, Bella—he'll definitely start to act a lot more likeable. Maybe it'll get him some more admirers."

I frowned. I did not like the sound of that—more admirers on his part, I mean. "On the other hand, you're absolutely the most charming man a girl could ask for," I said quickly, burying my head in his torso.

I didn't have to see him to know that he smiled.

**ASADSFADS ASADSFADS ASADSFADS**

"Edward, it's Sunday."

He blinked at me, before resuming his staring contest with his seven Scrabble squares.

"Edward," I repeated, rather more impatiently, "it's Sunday."

He nodded blandly and began to rearrange them with his long, white fingers.

I frowned. "You have to go to work."

He peered at his squares before saying, "Ah-ha!" and slowly placing them one by one in the middle of the board. "Potent," he said, smiling. "Now let me count up the points…"

"Edward," I said crossly. "You have to go to work."

He gazed at me, eyebrows raised, his hand hovering above the pencil. "I don't have to do anything, Bella."

I scowled. "You're risking my career, and quite possibly yours, by staying here."

He sighed. "Whatever gives you that idea?"

Oh, I don't know, just the fact that Lauren had practically stated that she would tell Victoria that she saw Edward and I having a breakfast date? And that the fact that we were both absent from work at the same time would be doubly suspicious? "We could get in trouble," was all I said.

He chuckled. "Oh, Bella, of course we won't. I have the situation completely under control. You just stay sick, and I'll just stay on vacation. God knows I deserve one."

I growled. "Leave, dammit."

His eyes widened, and he looked hurt. "Don't you want me here, Bella?"

Damn his pretty green eyes. "Of course, Edward," I said, slightly less bitingly, "but I…need to, you know, recover. And I'll be fine on my own. And you have work. And you need to get it done."

He narrowed his eyes. "Your immune system needs work."

I snorted. "Yeah, work you can't do. Go do lawyering somewhere else, okay?"

He eyed me critically before saying, "Do you have a piece of paper I can tally the points on?"

I scowled. "Leave this room or I yell 'Red'."

He chuckled. "We're rather testy when we have food poisoning, aren't we?"

"Urgh!" I jumped off the bed and stumbled to the living room, curling up on the couch with a grunt.

I heard him before I saw him. "Bella?" he said softly, his feet making slapping sounds on the floor.

"Go 'way," I mumbled.

"Bella, if you really want me to leave, then I'm more than happy to."

I nodded. "Mm-hm."

He sighed. "Fine. I'm going. I guess I'll just have to stay the entire day away from you, wondering whether you're dead or alive or hurt or well…"

"Leave, Edward." I rolled over and clenched my hands into fists, waving them above the edge of the couch for added effect.

"Fine!" he said, slightly more harshly. "Then you don't get a goodbye kiss, either!"

I grimaced as the door slammed shut with a bang. That was really, really unfair. The newly started ringing of the phone just made it doubly worse. I groaned as I stretched out my hand towards the phone, dangling it in my fingers as I picked it up off of the receiver.

"Hello?" I said grumpily, glaring at its dinky little white antenna.

"Bella? Is this you?"

I gulped, and quickly plastered a smile on my face. "Hey, Victoria," I said, still grinning like a Cheshire cat. "What a pleasant surprise."

She sounded stern. "Bella, there's something important I would like to discuss. It's about Edward. And, coincidentally, you."

The feeling in my stomach reminded me of the Titanic—it was sinking. And fast.

**A/N: Alright, well, there's chapter seven. You may be wondering to yourself what relevance it had—the main point was the food poisoning part. Because that is important. So…keep that in mind. And is Bella's character flaw obvious yet? Because I am trying really, really hard to make it very, very apparent. **

**Also, I'm thinking of changing the genre of this story from plain Romance to either Romance / Humor, Romance / Drama, or Romance / General. Please tell me what you think I should do, because I'm rather ambivalent on the issue.**

**I really want to update by this Friday (that is my foremost goal), but I might not have enough of chapter eight finished by then with all of the work I have to do otherwise…the unfortunate thing is that if I can't update by then, I probably won't be able to update for about three weeks from now. So I'm very sorry if you don't hear from me for a while—I know exactly where I'm going with my plot, but I'm having trouble getting there. **

**Anyways, preview for chapter eight: Bella gets a call. And no, it's not the one from Victoria. It's from a mysterious source that we have heard of in the course of this story but have as yet to meet. Ooooh…and Lauren is starting to play a much larger part. **

**Okay, question of the day: what do **_**you**_** think Victoria is calling about? I'd like to know what the ending—let's call it a cliffhanger, for all intents and purposes—left you with. **

**So, review! **


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: So, I apologize for the long wait…yes. And, you know that phone call I promised? Hahaha. Just kidding. It's next chapter. Most likely. Soonish. Eventually.**

**Secondly, when I was referring to the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, I meant the book. I saw the movie as well, and…they could have done a lot worse of a job, I think. But, yeah. Just wanted to clear that up.**

**Thirdly, thanks to everyone for giving me their opinion about what genres I should put this story in. I've gotten a pretty much 50 / 50 response, but more in favor of Romance / Humor. So, that is what this shall become. However, if you are really strongly opposed to that, just review with your reasoning, and who knows? I might change it. **

**I own nothing but the plot. **

**Chapter 8**

"Yes?" I said, trying to disguise the fear in my voice. After all, what did I have to fear? Victoria couldn't actually see the fact that my knuckles looked like they were splashed with whitewash, or that my eyes had hardened and tightened in my face. She couldn't possibly know that my feet were clenched and my knees locked.

So why was I so worried?

"Bella…" was that disappointment that I heard in her voice? Was she disappointed in _me_? Did she know that I had seen Edward? Had Lauren told her? God forbid—have she somehow contacted Tyler? Were they talking?

"Yes?" I said, probably over-anxiously. But I deserved to be a little anxious. I could, after all, lose my job.

"I noticed you're not here today—obviously, since I'm calling your home—but I was wondering if perhaps your being absent was a result of Edward."

"W…what?" I gripped the phone so tightly I thought it might break.

"If he's really such a bad employer that you can't stand working for him, which I would completely understand, then I can try to switch your position or talk to him…"

I breathed a sigh of relief. This was much better than I had expected. "Oh, no," I said, taking a deep breath, "no, I'm…I'm just, you know, going to suck it up…tough it out…"

"Oh." She sounded strangely…disappointed? "Oh, well, if you really feel that way…"

"Uh, yeah, I do," I said hurriedly. "You know, the good pay and all…"

"But Bella…" she gave a nervous laugh. "God, I don't know how to say this…"

"Yes?" She did know, didn't she? She knew, she knew, I was going to be fired, Lauren told her, she knew…

"How about…becoming my secretary?"

Okay, not what I was expecting. "Er…what?"

She laughed again. "Yeah, I was expecting that reaction. It's just, I've noticed what a wonderful job you've been doing with Edward, and, honestly, your work is far superior to that of my secretary…"

"Who's your secretary?" I asked quickly.

She sighed, and I heard the rustling of papers in the background. "Lauren."

Dear God.

This was a problem.

"Don't worry about the workload," she said hurriedly, as if she anticipated a 'No', "I assure you that I hardly give any more than Edward, and I'm a tad more reasonable, if I do say so myself…"

But I liked Edward now. At least, I could tolerate him. No, more than that—I was infatuated with him.

I grimaced. Stupid, stupid me.

Victoria continued. "The pay is twice as much, so, you'd get two perks, am I right? And, between you and me," her voice now became conspiratorial, "I've been meaning to fire Lauren for a while now."

"I…oh." Words wouldn't come out. I didn't know what to do.

Twice the pay, better work, a higher position, subordinate to a woman that I highly respected…revenging myself on Lauren for all of the pain she caused me…

Who could pass up an offer like that?

But on the other hand…there was Angela, Laurent, Emmett and Rose…who could guarantee I would see them after switching positions?

And there was Edward.

_Edward._

Obnoxious, rude, conceited, arrogant, wonderful, kind, beautiful, helpful, fantastic Edward. Edward my boss. Edward my friend. Edward my caregiver, Edward my roommate's brother…Edward the one I just might be falling in love with.

Would it be too suspicious to refuse the job? Would she catch on? And, if I did accept it, would Lauren end up telling her all about the breakfast date? Would it mean that I would never be able to hold a job at Murich and Co. at all? Did Lauren even deserve to have her job taken away from her? Without employment, she would be entirely dependent on Tyler.

I would never wish that fate on anyone.

"I…" my voice was hesitant. "I…Victoria, I'll have to think about it."

She took in a deep breath—I could practically hear the frown in her voice. "Alright, I wasn't going to tell you this, but…I would get out of there while you can, Bella. I like you. I don't want to see you in trouble."

"In trouble?" I asked. What on earth did she mean?

"Look, I…just, I think Edward might like you. A lot. And there's only so long you can resist, Bella. And once you stop resisting, well…think it over."

And she hung up.

I gulped and hurried over to my closet, tossing out some clothes and a pair of shoes. I had to get to work. I had to get to work now. I needed to talk to somebody about this…and I needed to talk to them face-to-face. The most ideal person would be Alice, but since she wasn't here…

I slipped on the clothes and dashed out the bedroom door, shoving my feet into my shoes as I fumbled with the keys that lay on the kitchen counter. I hurriedly put on my coat, fiddling with the lock and jiggling with the handle until it opened with a bang.

I needed to talk to someone. Badly. And the only person I could think of was Rosalie Cullen.

**ASADSFADS ASADSFADS ASADSFADS**

I tapped my foot impatiently in the elevator, glancing at my watch even though I knew it hadn't moved a millimeter. I was breathing quickly in and out my nose, a habit I had picked up when I got the flu at age twelve—whenever I was sick (in this case, food poisoning), that was my immediate reaction. It annoyed Alice to no end.

My eyes flicked to the lit button—floor number 20. Why was the ride taking so long? Why couldn't it go faster? I glanced at my watch again. Nine twenty-two A.M. and thirty-nine seconds. Practically the same as five seconds ago.

I sighed in relief when I finally heard the ding that signaled my ride had come to an end. I practically flipped out of the elevator when it finally shuddered to a halt, catapulting down the hallway.

"Hey, what's the big idea?" Jessica asked, pursing her lips at me as I zoomed right and down the hall towards the Cullen wing. At least it was close to the front desk. "Swan?" she called. "I swear to God, if you're doing anything wrong I am _so_ telling Mr. Cullen—"

"Oh, shove it," I muttered under my breath before pushing the door open. A wave of dizziness passed over me, and for a moment I paused…but then I remembered my predicament. I shook my head and kept going forward—I had to keep moving.

Of course, it was just my luck that the door to my office happened to be opening, and I could see Edward's copper-colored head poking out. He was exiting, and if he saw me—I shuddered. Hell hath no fury like an angry boss.

"Crap," I whispered, quickly scanning the room for a hiding place. "Crap, crap, crap, crap, crap…" If he saw me while knowing that I was sick, I could only imagine his reaction. And it involved yelling. And with the headache that I had…I wasn't really looking forward to that. So my best option was to conceal myself.

I quickly dashed across the room to the main desk—I had learned fairly early on that it was just for show; how could it serve any real purpose when there was no one to sit behind it and actually do anything?—and ducked behind it.

As I crouched beneath it, I could hear Edward speaking to someone, his smooth voice polite and reserved. Did the fact that my heart started beating wildly in my chest show how deep my feelings went?

"Mr. Lawrence," he said, "I'm very sorry for everything that Jacob Black did to your company…if there's anything else I can do to help, please, inform me…"

"You can do the best damn job of landing that damned fool in a prison cell, Cullen," the voice said. I was surprised at how cold it sounded. I badly wanted to look over the desk to see the face that the voice belonged to—unfortunately, in the interest of remaining alive, I had to confine myself to merely listening. It was infuriating.

"Trust me, my secretary and I are working on the double about the case. We have enough evidence piled up against him to make him pay quite a hefty fine."

The voice was impatient now. "Fine? Fine? I don't want money. I want jail time. I want ten years behind bars. Do you know how set back we are? Do you know how much time has been wasted because of the damage he and those damn Quileute fools did? I don't want any damn money, I want punishment."

My eyebrows rose—so this was the man who had put up the charges against Jacob. He was the head of Matherson Incorporations—he was the person who was trying to make the strip mall. I already didn't like him.

Edward's voice was soothing, trying to calm the man down. "Mr. Lawrence, I assure you, I will do the best I can. As I said, my secretary and I—"

"By the way, where is your secretary?" the man said. "I'd like to meet her. She must be a looker, eh, to be working with a guy like you?"

I frowned. Stupid, sexist pig. Talking about me like a piece of meat.

"Oh, no," Edward said quickly, "she's hideous. Absolutely ugly. You would have no interest in her."

I scowled. That was even worse. "Idiot," I said beneath my breath. Though I did start to feel slightly self-conscious—did he honestly think that?

The man chuckled. "Sounds to me as if someone's a bit protective."

"W-what?" Edward said, sounding slightly nervous. "No, trust me, she's positively awful looking."

The man snorted. "Alright. I'll see her sooner or later."

I rolled my eyes. I certainly wasn't looking forward to that.

"Of course, Mr. Lawrence," Edward said smoothly, and I heard the click of a door, signaling that he had exited. I breathed a sigh of relief and tentatively peeked over the edge of the desk. The coast was clear. I cautiously slipped out from underneath the black wood and tiptoed over to Angela's door, knocking lightly.

"Wait one second!" I heard her call from inside. "Who is it?"

"It's me, Angela," I said. "Bella."

"Oh!" she sounded relieved. "Oh, well, you won't mind then."

I was confused. "Mind what?"

She swung the door open, what I saw inside making me gasp. Inside of the room was seated an Asian man rummaging through a small brown briefcase. Though he was seemingly occupied, he sported the same wacky grin that was now gracing Angela's face—I had seen that look before between Jasper and Alice, Rosalie and Emmett, and now…Edward and I. No wonder she was so nervous. Her hands were twisting together as her eyes carefully scanned my face to gauge my reaction.

"This," she said slowly, "is Ben. He…he works under Mr. Lawrence, and so he came here today, and…" her eyes flicked to the side slightly to check that he wasn't listening. "And I think I might have found the love of my life," she said in a hurried whisper under her breath, so low that I could barely even hear it.

"Wonderful," I said softly in reply. "I just need to see Rosalie for a second—would that be okay?"

She nodded happily. "She ended her meeting with Emmett earlier this morning, so I'm pretty sure she's free…"

I blushed lightly. I was pretty sure I knew what the meeting had been about. "Great. Fantastic." Another wave of nausea passed over me, and I grimaced, clutching my stomach.

"Are you alright?" she raised her eyebrows concernedly. "I mean, you can come back later…" her eyes flicked to Ben again.

"No, no," I said, shaking my head. "No, I'm fine…just some stomach problems, really, it's nothing…"

She looked doubtfully at me. "Well, if you say so…" she then added quickly and quietly, "Take your time, alright? I'm trying to get to know Ben better." That same goofy grin slid onto her face again.

"Good luck," I said sincerely, slipping past her and power-walking to the next door. "I'll see you in…an hour? A half hour? Something like that."

She nodded and giggled. "Great. Sounds perfect."

I smiled. She was right—it did sound perfect. Then I opened Rosalie's door and walked inside.

The blonde bombshell was lounging behind her desk, typing on her Mac computer while checking what was on the screen with a document she had placed to the right of her keyboard. What surprised me most was that she was wearing a pair of glasses—since when had she worn glasses?

"Yes?" she said, sounding bored, not even looking up, "Do you need something?'

"Rosalie," I breathed out, closing my eyes and taking a deep breath as I was hit with another wave of nausea. "I need help."

"Bella?" I snapped my eyes open only to find her gazing at me worriedly, her right hand delicately placing her glasses farther down on her angular nose. "Are you alright?"

I smiled slightly and tipped my head to the side, ignoring the question. "I didn't know you wore glasses."

She chuckled wryly. "Most people don't. They give me a, uh, confidence boost, if you will." She gracefully stood up, brushing off her immaculate black pants. "People seem to think I'm smarter with glasses on. I like to thing that it helps them to focus more on my intellect."

I nodded. "Alright."

She quickly changed subjects. "But what about you, Bella? What do you need help with? You look awful."

I arched one eyebrow. "Thanks."

She rolled her eyes and carefully slid off her glasses. "You know what I mean."

"Well," I said slowly—suddenly, this didn't seem like such a good idea. "It's kind of complicated."

"I've got as much time as you need," she said serenely, sitting back down in her seat and gesturing at the chair on the other side of the desk. "Please, take a seat."

"Okay," I took a deep breath and walked over to the chair, sliding into it with a sigh. "So, say, hypothetically, that there was a girl."

Rosalie smiled. "Is her name Bella?"

"No," I said quickly, "No, it's...it's Abigail. And, say, she fell in love with…the President of the United States. Or someone really, really important."

Rosalie coughed.

I continued. "And say she was just his secretary. And say she knew the scandal that would happen in the media if she, say, screwed around with him. Like, he might be impeached. Or she might be impeached. Or something along those lines."

Rosalie nodded sagely. "Of course. And would this president be called Edward?"

"No!" I said hotly, blushing a deep red. "No! His name is Phil."

She snickered. "Fine. Abigail and…Phil."

"So, say Phil also fell in love with Abigail and they…they really liked one another. But Phil was a complete and total idiot, and he didn't even try to contemplate the fact that Abigail could lose her job if anyone found out about them…" I realized I was rambling and quickly ended with, "So yeah. What would you do?"

She sighed and placed her hands together, fingertip to fingertip. "Well," she drawled, "since you're so enamored with Edward, I would just get the whole damn thing over with and date him already."

I blushed. "We were talking about Abigail. And Phil."

She nodded. "Right. So, you should just be with Edward. Don't worry about Victoria."

I blushed even deeper. "It's more complicated than that."

"Of course," she muttered. "With Edward, it always is…"

"I…Victoria offered me the position of her secretary, and, well…"

Rosalie clapped excitedly. "Well, that's absolutely perfect!"

I shook my head. "No, no it's not…it would mean that I would have to take Lauren's position, but knowing that she would then have to rely on my crazy stalker ex, which, believe me, I do not recommend…" I took a deep breath. "And she saw me on a breakfast date with Edward, so if I take her job then I won't even be able to have a job, because she'll tell Victoria and I'll be fired anyways…" I decided not to mention that I also didn't want to be away from Edward for that long. It sounded pitiful, but it was the truth.

She frowned. "You're right. That's complicated."

I leaned back in my chair and tipped my head backwards to stare at the ceiling. "So what should I do?" I asked, my voice sounding subdued. "Should I just…pretend we never happened? Because I don't think I'm that good of an actress."

"Yes, and Edward wears his heart on his sleeve," Rosalie murmured in agreement.

"I also don't think I can really accept Victoria's offer, because she'll see right through me…she'll figure it out…I'm completely stuck!"

Rosalie nodded contemplatively. She then snapped her fingers with an, "Ah-ha! I've got it!"

"Yes?" I said eagerly. "What is it?"

"Transfer to my department!" she said excitedly. "Angela can switch to Edward's secretary, and you can switch to me…and it'll be great. I'll just tell Victoria that I offered you this when I met you since Angela wanted to get a change of scenery or something like that," she waved her hand dismissively. "Anyway, the details aren't particularly important. I'll just talk the whole thing over with Angela, and you'll be all set."

I grinned. "That's absolutely wonderful, Rose! Thank you so, _so_ much!"

She shrugged. "It's the least I could do for you, Bella. I really like you, almost as much as my brother-in-law does…" she chuckled softly. "He's really crazy about you, did you know that? Every day for the past week he's come home with the most idiotic expression on his face." Her voice became wistful. "It was the same look I had when I first met Emmett." She then became business-like again. "Anyway, that's not really the point. Keep your job for about a week or so more—it shouldn't be _that_ difficult—and then we'll be able to switch you. I've got to give Victoria notice or something like that first…" she rolled her eyes as if to say, 'What can I do?'

I couldn't keep the smile off of my face. It was just too perfect. "Rosalie, I don't know what to say…I just…this is amazing."

She laughed. "No worries. I'll call her now. Just go head off to Edward or something."

My eyes widened. _Edward._ Right. I had completely forgotten about him—he was going to throw a hissy fit knowing that I was working while sick.

"Hey!" Rosalie said suddenly, frowning. "Aren't you supposed to be sick? Edward called last night, he was so worried…" she narrowed her eyes at me. "You shouldn't even be here!"

"Oh, well, thanks," I said quickly, stumbling out of my seat and towards the door. "Really great, all that help and…help," I fumbled with the knob before slipping out with a sigh of relief. I turned to find Angela and Ben engaged in a staring contest, giving me an eerie reminder of Alice and Jasper. It looked like they were communicating something incredibly important to one another, their gazes were so intense.

I sighed and hurried past them, not wanting to disturb their "moment". I walked over to my office and massaged my temple, slumping into my chair with a groan. My headache was just getting worse. And my _stomach_…I didn't even want to think about it. But my chair was very comforting in my time of need, and, before I knew it, I had dozed off.

**ASADSFADS ASADSFADS ASADSFADS**

When I woke up, the first thing I saw was green.

It was a familiar green. A dark green, an electric green. An Edward green.

And, unsurprisingly enough, it was an angry green.

"Glad to see you're up," he hissed, his eyes narrowed.

I yawned in response and sat up slightly in my chair, rubbing my eyes with the back of my wrist. I blinked in surprise—I was sitting in the inquisition chair, yet again, and Edward was behind his desk, fingertips pressed as firmly together as his smooth, pale lips.

"Hi," I said drowsily. "How'd I get in here? Not that it's exactly a surprise, you know…" I lovingly patted my seat. "Good to see my old friend again."

He ignored me, and continued to quietly steam on the other side of the desk like a bubbling volcano (or pot of broccoli, take your pick). It didn't take a genius to figure out he was going to explode.

"Can you explain," he seethed, "exactly _why_ you are here?"

I yawned again. "Actually, that was my question. And if neither of us have the answer, then why even ask it?"

"No," he said angrily. "I mean why you're in this building."

I looked at him skeptically. "Would you rather me be in another building?"

"Yes," he said furiously, "like your apartment building. You know, where you live?"

"Oh," I said, feigning disinterest. "That building. Yeah, well, surprise! Here I am. Ready for work."

He gave me a look of supreme disgust. "You are in absolutely no condition to work, Isabella."

Damn him. Using my full name. I glared. "I am perfectly fine, Edward. But thanks for your concern."

"It's completely justified. You are, after all, suffering from food poisoning. Or, should I say," at this his voice became mocking, "the 24-hour flu?"

I disliked his cocky attitude. So, of course, I said something stupid—I can't help myself, it's a natural tendency. "Well, you know what, Edward? I dragged my butt down here because I have a problem. And you know what? That problem is _you_." I scowled and mentally added, _'And Victoria…'_

His eyes shut so far that they became two thin, glimmering slits. I blinked—it was an "I'm-a-dangerous-animal-hear-me-roar" look. I frowned when I realized that I found it strangely attractive.

I coughed and squirmed uncomfortably in my seat as he said in a soft, vicious whisper, "You think you have problems? You _are _a problem. You want to know why? Because you are so completely stubborn. You don't see yourself clearly, either. You accuse me of making assumptions, but you're always the one assuming everything. And you're so, _so_ confusing! You say you'll stay home, then you don't, then you're mad, then you're angry, then you're…you're…" he took a deep breath of air.

"Why'd you just describe yourself?" I said acidly.

He growled.

Again, did most people growl? I would just have to ask Alice.

"You, Isabella, are completely infuriating," he said, eyes still narrowed to the extreme.

"Well, you're completely aggravating," I mimicked.

He made a face at me. "And a very important client, Mr. Lawrence, came today. I told him you and I were working diligently on the Jacob Black case. But then when I come back to the office with him, I find you _snoozing in a chair_."

I blushed. It was a good thing I hadn't been awake, because that would have been _awkward_—I actually did remember Edward telling that chauvinistic man that I had been working hard…I blushed even deeper. Catching me sleeping must have really embarrassed him. And, I didn't know why, but the thought of Edward being ashamed of me…my insides twisted into knots.

"Sorry," I whispered, instantly filled with humility. Not that I was going to let him off that easily for completely insulting me, but I could understand why he had lost his temper so easily.

He sniffed and reclined slightly in his chair, backing down. His animalistic side was slowly disappearing. "Well, I hope you're happy that he was simply amused with the whole debacle," Edward said grudgingly.

I couldn't help smirking just a little bit. "Oh, why? Because I'm, 'Such a looker?'" I used air quotes to mimic the voice of Mr. Lawrence.

Edward raised his eyebrows at me. "Nice impression. You were awake the whole time, then?"

I simply shrugged. "Nope. A girl just has her ways."

He snorted. "Of course. But, at least…" he sighed. "At least he wasn't angry, which was…good." He glared at me once more. "But don't let it happen ever again. Never. Do you understand me?"

I nodded. "Yes. I'm sorry." And I was. Just probably not as much as I should have been.

He sighed and pinched the bridge of the nose with his thumb and forefinger. "Just…just go home, Bella. You need to rest."

I shook my head stubbornly. "Nope, I'm already here. And, you know, I need to get work done." _Besides, it gets kind of lonely at my apartment. You know, me being the only one there constantly. At least here I have some companionship, even if it has to be merely professional._

But I didn't say that.

He then said something unintelligible, leaning back even further in his chair.

"What?" I asked, tipping my head to the side. Anything he said was important to me, especially now that I felt the need to make up for my behavior towards him.

He slowly raised his head to look me straight in the eye. He seemed dazed for a moment, but quickly recovered by saying, "If you must."

I smiled. "I must."

**ASADSFADS ASADSFADS ASADSFADS**

I leaned over Jessica's desk, searching futilely for the blonde-haired bimbo. I was starting to wonder if she did this on purpose—it couldn't have been merely coincidence that she was _never_ here when I came to call. The timing was just too perfect.

"Urgh," I groaned and pounded on the desk with a fist. "Where the hell is she?"

"Looking for Jessica?" I snapped around and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Oh, hey, Angela," I said happily, smiling weakly at her. "Where's Ben?"

She lowered her eyes to the ground and mumbled, "He left."

"Oh…I'm sorry," I said softly, gently patting her arm. I was surprised when she raised her head to show me that her eyes were glittering with happiness.

"I got his address!" she said gleefully, holding up a small white business card with a number scrawled across the back. "He lives in _Trump Tower_," she whispered, a dreamy look passing over her eyes. "He says he knows the Donald personally…"

I raised one eyebrow. "But you hate Donald Trump."

"Well, yes," she admitted sheepishly. "But, you know, it's the idea of it."

"Okay," I laughed, though soon followed it up with a frown. "But that's on Manhattan…"

"Well, that's where Matherson Incorporation's headquarters are," she said hurriedly. "You know, so he doesn't have too long of a commute. They just flew in for today to meet with Edward…" she gave a short giggle. "I saw you sleeping, too. Pretty funny, if I do say so myself."

I blushed. "Was it that bad? It's just, I have food poisoning, so…"

She wrinkled her nose. "It's not contagious, is it?"

I shook my head. "No. But what happened? I don't really know, since I was kind of incapacitated."

She smiled. "It was…well, Mr. Lawrence was really taken with you. He kept clapping Edward on the back for getting a secretary like you."

I turned bright red. "Well, that's just talk…" I mumbled.

She laughed again. "And then Edward was so cute—it was like he was jealous or something. And he kept trying to brush your hair back from your face, but then he kept stopping himself. It was really sweet."

I blushed even darker as her face took on a look of suspicion.

"Hey," she said cautiously, "hey—you guys aren't, well, you know…?"

"No, I mean…we're not!" I said hastily, my voice squeaking. "We're just friends that, you know, are good. And we, you know, like each other, like, you know, a lot…"

She was getting more skeptical by the second.

"So," my voice kept getting higher pitched—it sounded like I had just been inhaling helium. "So, you know, we try to keep our relationship professional, but, you know, who can help one little kiss every once in a while? Or, you know, a lot every while…or more than a kiss, more like a full-blown session of, you know, making out on a couch…but that's purely hypothetical, of course." I started giggling nervously.

Angela raised one eyebrow. "You're an absolutely horribly liar," she said simply. "Really. You're awful. It's almost painful watching you."

"Thanks," I said in a deadpan, glad that my voice was at least lowering in pitch.

"Don't worry, I won't tell Victoria," she smiled. "But I would keep it under wraps. Try to stay away from him. Because, well, like I said…you're not the best at concealing things."

I nodded. "Yeah. And Rosalie's working on helping me out, too."

Her eyes widened. "Oh, so _that's_ why she's switching us!" she laughed. "Oh, okay! Well, that makes perfect sense. I need a change of scenery anyway."

"I hope it's not inconvenient," I said hurriedly.

She shook her head and waved her hand slightly. "Of course not. I'm glad, if anything. Working with Rosalie…it kind of lowers your self esteem."

I grinned. "Yeah, I'd have to agree with you there." I glanced at the desk, and remembered what I had originally been sent out to do. "Oh!" I snapped my fingers. "Where's Jessica? Do you know?"

"Oh, yeah," she nodded sagely. "Probably talking to Lauren or delivering something to Victoria. I swear, Jess is practically Victoria's spy…they're always having meetings or rendez-vous' or something."

I nodded. "Okay, so, where exactly is her office?"

Angela gestured to the ceiling. "One floor up on the 21st. You can take the stairs or the elevator, either way."

"Stairs," I said simply before heading down the hall back towards the stairwell. "Thanks, Ang!"

"No problem, Bella," she called. "Happy to help a friend."

_Friends_…I smiled. That sounded good.

**ASADSFADS ASADSFADS ASADSFADS**

I knocked lightly on the crème colored door, staring blankly at the black print letters of "BLANCH" that were stamped across its face. I could hear murmuring inside, followed by the scraping of chairs.

The door swung open, and I stepped inside with a quick grin to its three occupants—Lauren, Jessica, and, of course, Victoria. I coughed nervously. Not that I wasn't expecting all three of them, but my situations with them were just so…awkward. Jessica I obviously hated, Victoria I was having to reject, and Lauren…well, that was self-explanatory.

"Hey," I said quietly, my heart sinking down in my chest when Victoria gave me a forced smile. Jessica merely eyed me distastefully, while Lauren gazed with an unnecessary amount of determination at the top of my head.

"Did you need anything?" Victoria asked, her lips turned downwards.

"I needed to speak with Jessica for a moment," I said quickly. I then addressed said female. "Mr. Cullen needs the documents of Mr. Black's record and personal information…he said you would have it."

"Trying to get rid of you already?" Jessica asked snidely.

I pursed my lips and continued, ignoring her. "Do you have them?"

She smirked. "I may, I may not."

I frowned. "Please, Jessica, this is no time to play games—I need those documents."

Her smile grew even broader. "Do you, now?"

"Yes," I hissed. "I do." I was really starting to lose patience with her.

She examined her nails, her expression bored. "Victoria and I—_excuse_ me, _Miss Blanch_—" she gave me an extremely smug look, as if the fact that she and Victoria were on first name terms was a novelty, "—were just discussing you."

"Oh, really, now?" I said, my teeth clenched.

She nodded. "And do you know what we were saying?"

"You were talking about how much I need those documents?"

She giggled softly. It sounded strangely menacing. "No, of course not. We were talking about how inappropriate office relationships are. Weren't we, Lauren?"

Lauren, whose gaze had never wavered from the space above my head, gave a curt nod, meeting my eyes for a moment before snapping back to her former position.

I felt myself stiffen involuntarily. "Jessica," I said angrily, "I need those documents. Now. Please process that."

She ignored me. "What are your opinions on the subject, Swan? Don't you find office romances to be rather…unfair? Unnecessary? Or…jeopardizing?"

I gulped internally, but made sure that my face remained stony. "I'm not here to chit-chat. I need those papers. Now." I gave Victoria an exasperated look—she smiled slightly in return and shrugged her shoulders helplessly. Why was she acting so un-authoritative? It was completely unlike her.

Unless…

It dawned on me suddenly, submerging me in the horror of my realization.

_Unless she wanted Jessica to be talking about this._

Victoria wanted to know. She had a hunch—a gleam in her eye that I had stupidly not noticed before, the kind of gleam someone gets when they're on a trail, or when they've found a lead. The gleam of discovery. And boy oh boy, what a discovery she had made—her favorite secretary in the office, or at least one she liked, doing something she had been expressly forbidden to do.

I vowed not to let her see me sweat.

"Of course they're unfair," I said solemnly. "It's almost as bad as ineffective crushes. Really, employer and secretary…how could that possibly happen?" I gave Jessica a sardonic look, daring her to retort. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat as I added softly, "But you'd know all about that, wouldn't you?"

"The documents are in the second drawer from the bottom on the left hand side," Jessica said suddenly, her voice short.

I smiled sweetly. "Thanks," and high-tailed it out of the room.

**ASADSFADS ASADSFADS ASADSFADS**

I sighed as I gazed at the clock in the upper right hand corner of my Mac computer screen—8: 24 P.M….still six minutes until I was let out of this stupid building. I groaned and stretched my fingers, pushing them backwards until it felt like the knots within them were slowly unraveling. It was only Sunday evening, but God, I felt awful. I had been working myself to the bone for the past few hours, just to prove to Victoria—and, maybe, subconsciously, myself—that I was a great secretary, and that I didn't deserve to be fired.

Even if I was having a relationship with the boss.

I stood up and turned around, placing my hand on the small of my back and bending forward. I then proceeded to walk around to the other side of the room and lean my head against the wall, sighing at the cool texture.

"So hot," I said sleepily, closing my eyes and sighing.

I nearly jumped out of my skin when I heard a familiar voice chuckle behind me.

"Glad to know my secretary's working up a fever," Edward said smoothly, sliding his arms around my waist and pulling me back from the wall to lean against him.

"Mmm," I said, my head tilting back against his shoulder. "It's been a long day."

He laughed again and put his mouth to my ear. "Far too long to go without a kiss, in my opinion."

"Oh, yeah, your opinion," I said sarcastically. "Mr. I-think-with-my-libido-constantly."

He just smiled and kissed my jaw. "Still argumentative, I see."

I yawned. "Not especially. Just crabby."

He kissed me again, right below my lip. "Still grumpy?"

"Well, you bring out the worst in me," I muttered, turning my head slightly to try and capture his lips.

He laughed. "Who's thinking with their libido now? You seem a little eager."

I frowned. "Well, I mean, you refuse to just kiss me. You work your way up to it by putting butterfly kisses everywhere, but never an actual kiss? It's not like my neck's the only kissable area of my body or anything—"

I took an unnecessary gulp of air as he suddenly spun me around, putting me flush against the wall.

"You're right," he murmured against my lips, "it's not the only kissable area…"

My eyelashes fluttered open on their own account, only to find Edward's green eyes smoldering at me with such intensity that, without the wall, I probably would have crumpled to the floor.

"Definitely," I whispered, positively melting.

My toes curled in anticipation for what was sure to be the most amazing kiss _ever_. But then, of course, Edward decided to pull away, grinning fiendishly.

"What?" I asked exasperatedly, pulling at his collar to bring him back towards me. "What's wrong?"

He smirked at me, leaning tantalizingly close. "I don't want to think with my libido too much," he breathed, tilting his head to the side in what would have been a cute gesture if I hadn't had the overpowering urge to slap him silly.

"You already responded to my libido comment," I hissed. "Once you've given a comeback to a comment, you can't give _another_ comebackto that same comment. It's against the laws of banter."

He just kept up that infuriating smile.

This made it so much easier on my conscience when I stamped on his foot with my four-inch, spear-like heel.

He yowled and dropped to the floor like a stone, clutching his shoe.

"That's what you get, you jerk!" I yelled, stamping my foot again for added sound effect and storming out the door in a haze of fury. I was so angry that it didn't really cross my mind that I was behaving childishly.

There was also the fact that I practically ran into Victoria.

"Oh, hi," I said, still steaming.

"Are you okay?" she peered at me curiously—she didn't seem as cold as she did at our last encounter.

"Sure," I said, tapping my foot impatiently. "Just, you know, talking to Edward." I gave her a bitter smile. "Need anything?"

She raised her eyebrows as Edward bellowed angrily from my office, "I THINK YOU BROKE MY FOOT!"

I grinned sheepishly. I was extremely glad that my little assault had, apparently, managed to prevent him from moving. It was sort of nice having him incapacitated. "I kind of…knocked over a lamp."

She nodded and raised one eyebrow disbelievingly. "Uh-huh."

"A very expensive lamp," I added.

She chuckled. "Right. Getting back at Edward?"

I shrugged and gave her a slight smile. "Yup. Destroying furniture…it's all a part of my mass plan of retaliation."

"BELLA! THOSE WERE MY FAVORITE LOAFERS!"

I giggled nervously. "Well, nice talking to you. I have to…go."

She nodded sagely. "Of course. Understandable, seeing as how you knocked over such a great…lamp." She definitely didn't believe me.

Considering how angry Edward sounded, it was completely understandable that I promptly vacated the building.

**ASADSFADS ASADSFADS ASADSFADS**

"_Hi! This is the flat of Bella Swan and Alice Cullen! Since we're not answering, in all likelihood, we're partying our hearts out. Or, at least, we are in spirit. If this is Tyler, go to hell. Anybody else, leave a message after the beep." _BEEP.

I cringed as the dreaded voice began to speak.

"Bella Swan," Edward said smoothly, "I am going to personally ensure that you regret ever having left your apartment this morning."

He hung up.

I gulped.

"Alice…" I whispered, my voice soaked with dread. "He's not going to really go through with that…" I eyed the now-blinking machine warily. "…Is he?"

She shrugged noncommittally. "I've hardly ever seen him get to the point of leaving threatening messages on answering machines. But, you know, I doubt it. I think both of you are just blowing the whole thing out of proportion."

I looked at her, stunned. "Aren't you, you know, afraid?"

She snickered. "Even if he _is_ serious, why should I be? _I'm_ not the one who basically murdered his shoes by _stepping _on them—"

"Yeah, yeah," I said hastily, "yeah, I know, it was stupid, but I didn't mean to, you know…tear through them."

She snorted. "Honey, those were four-inch heels with spikes; the leather pretty much didn't stand a chance. So you think what you did was stupid? No, Bella—it wasn't stupid. It was the epitome of insane."

I sighed. "Yup…"

"It was the pinnacle of idiocy."

I gave an even deeper, more mournful sigh, hoping she would get just how sorry I was. "Indeed."

"Not to mention you did it to the possibly worst person in the entire world," she added, now starting to count the list on her fingers. "Did you know that Edward has a thing about taking care of his feet? He's into track and field and running and all that stuff. I would almost say that he holds footwear to be as important as his piano." She shook her head, as if the idea was completely bizarre.

"Okay," I said, slightly annoyed.

"And you didn't even apologize to his face…you've just been ignoring his phone calls for the past—" she glanced at her watch, "—for the past hour."

I nodded, my lips pursed. I was pretty miffed that she wasn't backing me up in my time of need.

"And," she continued, "you still haven't put out that restraining order against Tyler, so that's just gonna add fuel to the flames."

I scowled. "Yeah, okay, I get it, I'm stupid. Now can we please figure out how to solve this?"

She giggled and waved her hand dismissively. "Oh, I wouldn't worry about it."

My eye twitched. This was unbelievable—she was being completely unhelpful. Usually she would at least quote Poor Richard's Almanac or Entertainment Weekly. "What on earth do you mean, Alice?"

She just kept giggling. "Well, if you've known Edward as long as I have, you know that…well, he doesn't really have the guts to do anything. Not _really_."

My eyes bugged out. "What do you mean, Edward's not _brave_?"

She shook her head furiously. "No, no, no, not at all. I'm sure he's pretty courageous or whatnot. What I'm saying is that if it came down to it, he couldn't back up those threats. He's all talk. He's not going to do anything to you. So don't worry." She patted my hand. "My brother may look like a lion, but he's really a lamb."

I blinked at her before slowly saying, "He sure sounded serious." Not to mention I really couldn't picture Edward as a lamb—it just wasn't working.

"Yeah, well…" she furrowed her brows, as if she was trying very hard to solve a difficult puzzle. "Okay, think of it like this—Edward is hard on the outside, but soft on the inside, okay? Like…like…" her face screwed up again, and a look of deep concentration slid onto her features. "Like…a clam."

I snorted—now that analogy I _really_ couldn't picture. "Okay. Edward is like a clam. Sure." I clapped a hand on my mouth to refrain from laughing to death.

Now Alice was the one looking disgruntled. "Well, he is!" she said defensively. "I'm not saying you can eat him—I mean, you can try, not that it'll _work_—but he's got this tough exterior, though he's just—"

"Just a big softie on the inside," I finished for her.

She nodded. "Exactly."

I was about to respond to what I thought was her extremely lacking simile, when the phone rang again. I groaned as the answering machine's message blared once more.

"_Hi! This is the flat of Bella Swan and Alice Cullen! Since we're not answering, in all likelihood, we're partying our hearts out. Or, at least, we are in spirit. If this is Tyler, go to hell. Anybody else, leave a message after the beep._" BEEP.

"Isabella Marie Swan."

I shuddered at how deadly his voice sounded.

"I am driving to your apartment as we speak."

I took in a deep breath.

"I hope you're prepared. Because I want you to know—_I paid a lot of money for those shoes_. Just think about that."

He hung up.

"Oh, Alice!" I wailed. "He's gonna murder me, and then he'll chop me up into little pieces and burn the pieces and stamp on them and then…then dump them in a river and torch them and…oh, Alice!"

Alice made a valiant attempt at keeping her face stoic as I fell to my knees in front of her, flopping down onto the rug with the sigh of someone who knows that their fate is inevitable. "I'm going to _die_," I moaned.

Alice patted my head reassuringly. I, however, was inconsolable.

The fact that the phone rang again only served to make me feel worse.

"_Hi! This is the flat of Bella Swan and Alice Cullen! Since we're not answering, in all likelihood, we're partying our hearts out. Or, at least, we are in spirit. If this is Tyler, go to hell. Anybody else, leave a message after the beep._" BEEP.

"Isabella Marie Swan. I'm outside your apartment building." He paused, and then, "I hope you got that second lock."

"Dear God," I murmured, my eyes widening.

Alice sighed and leapt over to the door, making sure that it was fastened tightly shut. "Calm down," she said. "It's not like he's gonna break the door down or anything…"

I glared at her. "He might. He just might."

She shook her head and rolled her eyes. "You two take yourselves way too seriously."

My eyes narrowed even further. "You didn't see him. He…he...was absolutely furious." Okay, so I was making stuff up now—I had only _heard_ him after all—but I thought that I was hitting pretty close to home.

Alice shrugged. "Whatever. Both of you are such drama queens. What do you want for dinner, anyway?"

I groaned. "I probably won't live long enough to eat it."

"So pizza should be good then?"

Since she seemed to not be accepting of the fact that I was going to die soon, I merely muttered, "Terrific."

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door, and a gruff voice called out, "Hey! Miss Swan, Miss Cullen…this is the landlord. I got a complaint about noise problems from this apartment…"

I sighed and slowly rose. "I'm coming Edward, don't worry. You don't need to act for me."

The voice sounded genuinely confused. "Edward? What's he got to do with this?"

I rolled my eyes. "It's okay, I know it's you. Don't pretend."

"Who's pretending?" the guy sounded slightly angry, and…hurt? I wasn't sure; his voice was muffled from having the door as a barrier between us.

I walked slowly over to the door. "Look, just…don't hurt me, okay?"

The voice was quiet. "I would never hurt you, Bella."

I gave a short laugh—only five feet from the door now. "Yeah, well, you sure didn't sound that way on the phone." He didn't respond, so I continued. "And seriously, 'noise problems'?" I laughed softly. "What kind of a lame excuse is that?"

The voice on the other side sounded perturbed. "What are you talking about? You're the one who said you were out partying on your phone's answering machine."

I snickered. "Yeah—in spirit. Gosh, way to be thick, Edward."

I was now just three feet from the door.

"Thick? Who're you calling thick?" The voice sounded decidedly angry. But I had given up being worried—I deserved his anger.

"Just, letting you know, I'm really sorry. I didn't mean…just, stamping on your foot and killing your shoe or whatever…it was a reflex. Nothing more." I giggled. "Okay, so, I kind of meant it, but you were the one who was leading me on—"

"Leading you on?" the voice on the other side sounded disbelieving.

Only two feet from the door now.

I smiled. "Oh, trying to block that from your memory, now are we? You know, kissing me, and then pushing me against a wall…" I didn't mean to, but I sighed dreamily. "I wouldn't mind that type of punishment from you, quite honestly."

The voice now sounded extremely angry. "Pushed you against a wall? Kissing you? _What_?"

I frowned. "Of course you remember, right? I mean, I am kind of memorable, aren't I? Not trying to sound, you know, self-conscious or whatever…"

My hand undid the lock with a click.

"Just…please try to understand, Edward," I continued. "I don't want to lose you. I really, really like you. A lot. You know, maybe enough to be…serious?" I knew my phrasing was odd, but he would understand. "I know I told you at the restaurant that I couldn't throw away everything on a chance, but I'm thinking, this isn't just a chance. I'm thinking…maybe it's more."

I took a deep breath. I had been waiting for a while to confess that. And maybe, just maybe it would soften Edward up.

My fingers rested on the doorknob, and I tentatively swung the door open. I was not expecting whom I saw on the other side.

It was Tyler.

And he did not look happy.

**A/N: So, there you go. Chapter 8! I apologize for it taking so long to post, but…it had fluff, right? And my favorite thing in the world: making fun of Edward. I love making fun of Edward. You should try it. **

**Oh, and, that's "two", by the way. **

**(Hmm, now whatever could that mean? You should guess. Hint – "One" came in chapter four.)**

**Preview of next chapter: The telephone call (I think), Jeopardy, and a special elevator ride. And more Lauren – by the way, are they casting anybody for Lauren in the Twilight movie? **

**Review!**


	9. In Regard to my Lack of Updates

**A/N: Right, so, I hate those long, boring author notes that are put instead of chapters…but I'm going to write one. And, if you've been wondering where I've been, then you should probably read this one. **

**I understand that I haven't updated in a while. And I am really, truly sorry. Unfortunately, I have three major school projects going on and six major musical commitments, not to mention a bunch of end-of-the-year tests. I'll probably only be able to update once I've finished with all of these…which will be a while yet (probably end of May / beginning of June). **

**I apologize for having kept you waiting for so long without an explanation, but I just wanted to assure you that I haven't given up on this story (or Chasing Daylight, for that matter, but I think I might delete it and rewrite it because a bunch of things are bothering me and I need to straighten them out).**

**So, keep an eye out for that update – just know that it'll be much later. **


	10. Chapter 9

**A/N: Hey! I'm back from the dead!**

**No, seriously. I know I said I would get it up sometime in June – I posted it on my author-thingy – but, through a series of unforeseeable circumstances that had absolutely nothing to do with me – my laptop (and all my computer files) were confiscated. I only got it back Monday, and since then, I've been editing. I've been editing a lot because it takes me a while to get back in the loop of writing when I've been away for so long…which is why this chapter is crappy at the beginning. **

**And, so, similarly, I have not checked any of my reviews, and I'm sure that some of them are pretty angry, which is completely understandable. So, I'll get to that as soon as I post this. I've also missed a ton of updates, so I'm going to start reviewing like crazy. **

**Also, I would like to thank everyone who wished me luck with my musical and academic commitments. I am pleased to say that, for the most part, they all went wonderfully. :-)**

**Anyway, on with the chapter – and, please, ignore the bad beginning four pages or so. It gets all fluffy at the end, so that should be **_**some**_** recompense. And, I apologize to any vegetarians that might read this.**

**Chapter 9**

Before I could even think, my reflexes kicked in, my wrist giving a flick and shutting the door with a bang. I hastily redid the lock before slowly turning around, sliding down against the door.

I blinked. At that instant, I took every bad thing I had ever said about my reflexes back. I loved my reflexes. Especially since, without them, there was the distinct possibility that I would currently be in the arms of a certain deranged lunatic.

I blinked again.

"Alice," I whispered. "Alice…"

"Mmm?" she called from the kitchen. "Did you shut the door in his face? Good for you, honey." She laughed at the thought. "I bet he was surprised – was he surprised?"

"Uh…"

"Oh, wait, I've got the pizza guy on the phone – he wants to know what we want. Should we go Siciliana or double cheese? Or Hawaiian? I'm up for anything, really – but I'm kind of feeling in a meaty mood, you know what I mean?"

"Alice…" my voice sounded dead compared to her cheerful chirp.

"I'm thinking lots of meat. Sound good?"

I groaned.

She took this as acceptance. "Mm-hm, yes, we'll get the Siciliana – double the pepperoni. And no peppers." She paused. "What do you mean, you can't take off the peppers?" She paused again, sounding decidedly angrier. "Well, I don't care what you think." She snorted. "Yeah, that's right – get me the manager."

"Alice!" I whimpered, my voice still pitifully quiet. "Alice!"

She ignored me, her voice simpering. "Yes, Mark, is it? Well, your employee, David – " she made a tsk-ing sound with her mouth, "Yes, that sounds like him – annoying, impertinent…well, he's saying I have to get peppers on my pizza…"

"ALICE!" I finally barked, banging the door for good measure.

"I – oh, wait one second, someone's on fire – " She stuck her head out the kitchen door, one hand pressed to the receiving end of the phone. "What?" she hissed. "If you don't want Siciliana, just speak up."

"I don't care about the pizza!" I snapped.

She raised her eyebrows sympathetically. "Look, we can talk about my brother later. For now, we need to focus on food."

"It's Tyler!" I wailed. "_He_'s the one who was outside, not _Edward_!"

"I – oh." Her impossibly blue eyes widened slightly before blinking rapidly.

"Yeah," I said sarcastically. "Now you listen."

She pursed her lips. "I guess this means we're getting the pizza delivered, then."

I banged my head against the door.

She put her mouth back to the phone and said hurriedly, "Yes, yes…delivered please – I'm Alice Cullen, my address should be in the system." She paused. "Yes – _that_ Alice. Well, I'm glad you're a fan." She smiled slightly. "Mm-hm, nice to talk to you, too, Mark. Bye." She pressed the end button before quickly punching in a new number.

"Alice!" I said, narrowing my eyes at her petite form. "This is no time for a phone call! We need to take action."

She rolled her eyes. "I'm calling Edward – I don't know why he's not here yet. He should be able to help."

I closed my eyes and massaged my temple. "He probably doesn't want anything to do with me." My voice sounded hollow. "I destroyed his favorite loafers, after all…"

She snorted and turned to speak into the phone. "Yes, Brother Dearest – why aren't you here to yell at Bella?" Her expression suddenly shifted from mildly pleasant to murderously angry. "What do you mean, _it was all a joke_? Were you _trying_ to give her a heart attack?" She sounded disgusted. "Well, tell that to _her_. I wouldn't be surprised if she gives you a slap in the face. Or at least a good tongue-lashing."

She stomped over to me and stuck the phone under my chin, grimacing. "The King of the Morons wants to talk to you, Bella." She scrunched her nose in distaste as I took the phone.

"Hello?" I said cautiously. "Edward?"

"Oh, Bella," his smooth voice was riddled with guilt. "I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have played that joke on you – but I was rather upset…how can I make it up to you?"

"What?"

"It was all a trick, Bella. I'm not coming over to make you regret the day you were born or whatever nonsense I left on your answering machine – I'm just here, at the office, working late. I simply wanted to make you sweat. I apologize."

"You _what_?"

He gave a quick intake of breath. "Ah. You're angry."

"Of course," I growled. "Tyler is outside my door _right now_, chomping at the bit, waiting for me to let him in. And I – " I stopped myself short of saying that I had confessed to him my deepest, darkest secret; I just might be falling for Edward.

But Edward didn't need to know that.

"Bella!" His voice was torn and apprehensive, as if he wasn't sure whether to be furious or worried. "Are you alright? Did he hurt you?" Instantly, his tone was a shade darker – I was pretty sure he was leaning towards anger.

"No, I shut the door too quickly for him to get in. But…" I took a deep breath. "I still only have one lock."

He swore. "_Why_ don't you ever listen to me, Love? Don't you know I have your best interests at heart?"

I blushed. Maybe he didn't realize it, but he had just called me 'Love'. Simply hearing that word escape from his lips made me giddy. "What should I do?"

"I don't recommend facing him, even though I know you're probably itching to kick him to Kingdom Come." Though his banter was playful, there was an edge to it. "I know you won't like this, but I suggest staying in your apartment and letting me take care of him."

I scowled. "What – you think I can't face him?"

"No, but I don't think you should exacerbate his…_passion_ by appearing in front of him and trying to make him leave. Anything you do will only encourage him."

"So I should just sit in here like a good little girl while you have all the fun?"

He chuckled darkly. "I wouldn't call it fun, Bella. Besides, all I'm going to do is make sure he understands his…boundaries. In the mean time, I believe you should call the police. Don't you have a restraining order against him yet?" He took my answer from my silence. He exhaled in irritation. "You really should listen to me more often, Isabella."

There was the quiet purr of an engine coming to life in the background as I whispered, "I know. I will. At least, more often."

He laughed. "For some reason, I highly doubt that."

**ASADSFADS ASADSFADS ASADSFADS**

"Go AWAY!" I yelled again through the door crack.

"I can wait all day," he grunted back.

"Don't you get it? I hate you!" I slapped my hand against the door for good measure.

"No, you don't."

"Yes, I do."

"No, you don't."

I opened my mouth to retort, but was stopped by the look on Alice's face.

"Bella," she growled, turning her head to face me. "Don't."

I pursed my lips before quickly yelling through the door, "The police are on their way, Tyler!"

Alice snickered. "If you can call my brother the police, then, I suppose, yes…"

I made a shushing motion with my hand. "And," I called loudly, "they don't tolerate perverts like you."

I heard a muffled sigh from outside the door. "I'm not a pervert, Bella."

"Oh, yeah, right. Liar."

"No, I'm not."

"Yes, you are."

"No, I'm not."

"Didn't we just go over this?" Alice hissed.

"He's bothering me," I whispered to her, narrowing my eyes.

"Edward told you not to encourage him – don't talk to him."

"How do you know what Edward told me?"

"I was listening in on the other phone, _of course_. What did you expect me to do? _Ask_ you?" She rolled her eyes like it was the most insane idea in the world.

I sighed and slid even further down the door until I was lying almost entirely on my back. "I wish Edward were here," I mumbled. "He'd be helpful, at least."

"Who knows," Alice chirped cheerfully, "maybe he'll arrive at the same time as the pizza. That way, you get food and entertainment at the same time. It'll be like a show."

I glared at her. "I don't plan on opening this door until Tyler is good and gone, Alice. There will be no _show_. He's _dangerous_. He's…he's insane! And he's obsessed with me. So no food, no door-opening, and _no entertainment_!"

Alice huffed.

"Bella?" Tyler called through the door, trying, no doubt, to sound gentle.

I kept my mouth firmly shut. There would be no talking from me.

"I don't think you're going to like this, but I can see your boyfriend coming up the stairs." He said boyfriend like it was some sort of sacrilege.

Alice sighed. "Entertainment before food, then."

I decided to break my no-talking promise. "Thank GOD!" I shouted, glaring at the door as if I could see through it and straight to Tyler. "Edward is going to show you what's what!"

"Stay out of this, Bella," I heard a gruff – yet incredibly beautiful voice – say, sounding slightly out of breath.

"Ooh, goody," Alice chirped, clapping her hands excitedly. "This'll be just like a radio soap."

"Shush!" I hissed. "No entertainment!"

"Well, no popcorn for you, then…"

I slapped her on the arm. "Edward?" I called concernedly. "You okay? I can get on the Internet and read off legislature, so _he_ knows that what he's doing is illegal, if you want. They have websites for that sort of stuff, right?"

"Not necessary," Edward said, loud enough for me to hear, before lowering his voice to a murmur. I ground my teeth together. He was doing that on purpose – trying to keep me out of the loop.

Alice, meanwhile, had pushed me out of the way and was pressing her ear to the door, frowning.

"Hear anything?" I asked crossly.

"Not much…" she sucked in her lower lip. "Wait – Edward's telling Tyler to go – " she stopped abruptly and changed mid-sentence. "To go, um, leave. And now," she continued, making sure I didn't have enough time to question her on the legitimacy of that quote, "Tyler's saying something in a very Cave Man-esque manner, 'she mine' or something possessive like that."

"And Edward?" I asked eagerly, finding to my chagrin that this was, in fact, entertaining.

She shrugged and turned her face so that she was peering through the keyhole. "Well, now they're having a Neanderthal battle. Lots of grunting and lack of verbs. Oh, and – oh my God." Her eyes got huge. "I can't believe – NICE RIGHT HOOK, EDWARD!" She nodded appreciatively. "Wowza, that was like in a movie. Seriously. Like one of those martial arts flicks, you know? Jackie Chan material."

"What?" I shoved Alice out of the way and pressed my eye to the door. "What's happening?" I could feel Alice's tiny fingers prying at me, trying to get me away from the keyhole.

"Bella, no, don't look – !"

But Alice's warning had been in vain – I smelled the blood before I saw it, a detestable combination of rust and salt that hit my nose like a freight train going one hundred miles per hour.

I was out before I even hit the floor.

**ASADSFADS ASADSFADS ASADSFADS**

"Bella, are you alright?"

"You are such an idiot. I can't believe we're even related. I just can't understand it. Where did genetics go wrong?"

"Thank you, Alice."

"No problem. I mean, look at her – " I felt a cool hand on my forehand, pressing lightly against my temple, " – she's whiter than Brad Pitt's teeth, and hotter than Jessica Alba."

"Marvelous analogy, Alice. Really."

"It's pop culture, Edward. I read somewhere on the internet that if you reference pop culture a lot in conversation, people think more highly of you. Hence your unpopularity." I heard a muffled snicker.

"Dude, you just got owned," a deep voice said from somewhere above me.

"You two should be worrying less about jokes and more about Bella," the velvety voice admonished, ignoring the taunting. "She is a real, breathing human being – you should look after her more carefully."

"Edward, you don't need our help – you keep her safer than one of J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter manuscripts."

"Ooh, nice reference," the deeper voice said appreciatively.

There was a sigh. "Obviously, not safe enough."

"Aw, don't beat yourself up, man," I heard the deep voice say, sounding surprisingly tender. "It's not your fault she faints at the sight of blood." The voice then chuckled. "I mean, it was only a nose bleed, for Chrissakes. He was barely hurt."

"She faints at the smell of blood, actually," the high-pitched voice piped up. "She can smell it, you know. She described it to me once. It sounds pretty icky."

"People can't _smell _blood, Alice." The velvet voice snorted. "Surely you know that – our father is a doctor, after all."

"Look, all I'm saying is Bella can watch movies where people are spouting blood everywhere and she's totally cool. She just has to smell it – she can have her eyes closed and everything, even – and she'll keel over like Neville after he got _petrificus totalus _thrown at him."

I decided that this was as good a time as any to make my consciousness known. So, I groaned – loudly.

"She's awake!"

Immediately I could sense a flurry of activity around me.

"Bella, Bella darling, are you alright?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," I muttered, raising my head up slightly and attempting to open my eyes. Bright white light filtered through my vision, blinding me. "Ow."

"What is it? Are you okay?"

"You're not my mother, Edward," I said crossly, taking one wrist and dragging it feebly across my eyes. "It's just too bright, that's all."

"Emmett, turn down the lights."

"No!" I said, annoyed. "I can deal. You don't need to baby me."

"Bella, I'm just trying to take care of you."

"Sure," I muttered, struggling upright. "Control freak." Of course, I meant that in the best sense of the word.

"Here, let me help you."

"I can help myself," I said angrily, jerking away from the comforting hands that had started to grasp beneath by shoulder blades. I wasn't completely certain why I was being quite so hostile to him right now, but I did have a pretty good idea – he had willingly put himself in danger of Tyler (yet again) while I had taken a backseat and let him defend me (yet again). It bothered me to no end that he was always saving me.

"You are so stubborn," I heard him mumble. I could almost envision his perfectly sculpted face twisting into a mask of exasperation.

"Edward, let her alone, okay? Bella just wants to do this on her own. Right Bella?"

I smiled at how calm Alice's usually exuberant voice was, and at how well she could read me. "Right, Alice." I then slowly opened my eyes, millimeter by millimeter, until I could handle all the light that was streaming towards me from the bulb in the ceiling. I blinked rapidly and took a moment to digest my surroundings – I was on my bed, in my room, surrounded by three people: Alice, Emmett, and, naturally, Edward. Okay. So, this wasn't so bad.

"What…happened?" I asked blearily, taking in a deep breath. "I…"

"Don't you remember, Bella?" Alice asked curiously. Edward just glared at me, sulking in a corner by my dresser.

"I remember you coming to rescue me," I directed at Edward, grimacing, " and being about to turn to look through a keyhole…" my forehead furrowed. "But then…oh!" I jumped slightly and leaned towards Edward, suddenly recalling what had prompted my fainting spell. "Are you okay? Are you hurt? Did he hit you? Were you…were you bleeding?" This last prospect was so horrifying that I felt a whole new wave of nausea roll over me.

"I'm fine," he said gruffly, obviously agitated. "You don't need to baby me."

"Honestly, Edward," Alice said, rolling her eyes.

I continued to question him, not caring whether he was annoyed or not. My anger at being a constant damsel in distress had dissipated – at least, for now. "Are you sure you're okay? You're not hurt or anything?"

He sighed and shrugged his shoulders. "I'm fine. It was barely even a fight, really. I just hit him once, and he got the message. End of story." He folded his arms across his chest.

"Wait, is Tyler hurt?" I asked, my eyebrows flying up.

Emmett chuckled. "I think Eddy here gave him a shiner and a bloody nose, at the very least. Didn't know he had it in him, to be honest with you."

"Don't call me Eddy."

"Whatever, bro." Emmett laughed. "It was actually pretty funny – Edward called for backup, you know, like he was part of the NYPD or something." He rolled his eyes. "But by the time I got here, your ex was running down the stairs like a bat outta hell. It was hilarious."

I felt bile rise in my throat. "Oh, great," I groaned. "Just another injury to add to my already weighted conscience." I fell backwards and kicked at the covers. "I really hate Sundays."

"Bella," Edward said, sounding like he was having a hard time controlling his voice, "Are you saying you're sorry that that…_thing_ was hurt?"

I opened my eyes just in time to see a look of disbelief – and possibly hurt – cross his face. "Well, it feels like it's my fault," I said, trying to explain in a way that wouldn't offend his ever-inflating ego. "I'm a pretty non-violent person."

Emmett suppressed a snort.

"What?" I snapped, turning from Edward to face his burly older brother.

"Well," he said, fighting back a smile, "I wouldn't exactly call you a pacifist. Loafers, anyone?"

Even I had to smile at that.

**ASADSFADS ASADSFADS ASADSFADS**

I opened my eyes to see a world of yellow.

"Alice?" I groaned, propping myself up and squinting at the ceiling. "Alice? What…what day is it?"

"Yellow day!" I heard her chirp from somewhere outside my room.

"Oh." I gazed up in wonder at the yellow streamers and balloons that were occupying my formerly plain room. "How'd you get all this done without waking me up?"

"You sleep like a dead man."

"Oh." I didn't have a response for that, so I instead settled for plucking a lemonhead from the shiny new candy bowl that now rested on my bedside table. I sucked on it thoughtfully as I arranged my thoughts. "Well, I've got to hand it to you. It looks like Big Bird just molted in our apartment."

"Thanks!"

I sighed and swung my feet off the bed, tramping through my door and out into the living room. Except, now it looked more like the Emerald City gone gold.

"Jeez," I breathed, my eyes widening at the décor.

"Bella!" Alice sang, striding into the room with a breakfast tray balanced on her tiny hand. "Bella! Breakfast!"

I gulped. I didn't even want to know what the food looked like.

"Here," she said, strutting over to me and pushing me gently onto the black leather couch that was now dotted with fuzzy chartreuse pillows – it looked like a bumblebee.

She placed the tray in my lap and smiled at me triumphantly. "There! Perfect!" She put her hands on her hips and nodded. "Just right. Oh, wait one sec – " she dashed out of the room only to return almost immediately, clutching a vase filled to the brim with Marigolds. "Now _that's_ perfect," she said smugly, placing it on the coffee table in front of me.

"You went way overboard," I said, gaping at the scene in front of me. And if the room wasn't enough, Alice's cooking really took the cake (the yellow cake, that is) – there were eggs (naturally), unusually yellow pancakes, the type of orange juice that isn't actually orange, and a clear-ish lemon sauce to pour on the pancakes.

"Well, go on," she prompted, pointing to the plastic yellow cutlery that was lying by the plate full of yellow food.

"Is this all for me?" I squeaked.

"Yup. I'm going to go get mine as soon as the pancakes are finished."

I nodded dazedly. "Great."

"So," she said brightly, plopping onto the couch next to me and shoving some pillows out of the way in the process. "You and Edward were getting pretty cozy last night."

I frowned. "Alice, we had barely any physical contact. What are you talking about?"

She shrugged innocently. "I don't know. Maybe the way he was holding you, or the way you were clutching his hand, or the way you two would sneak glances at each other when you thought Jasper and Emmett and I weren't looking. You know, Jasper could barely take it – it was just so lovey-dovey."

I blushed. "We did not act like that. You're biased."

She chuckled. "You two were goo-goo for each other the moment you remembered what had happened to Tyler."

I smiled. "He did kind of save me. In a twisted sort of way." Which was sweet, despite my mixed feelings about being your typical damsel in distress.

"And then as soon as the pizza came, you two were like, feeding each other." Her expression became puzzled. "I'm not quite sure whether it was unbearably cute or unbearably gross. Maybe I should do that with Jasper sometime…"

"He'll think you're plagiarizing from Lady and the Tramp," I said snidely, picking at my eggs. "What time did Jas come in, anyway?"

She scrunched her eyes together. "Oh, sometime after the end of that Dateline special we were watching."

It was only because I knew her so well that I could see her face fall slightly in disappointment. "What's wrong?" I asked softly, placing one hand on her shoulder. Physical contact always helped to soothe her on the rare occasions when she was worried.

She sighed. "Oh, it's nothing…" She patted absentmindedly at one of the fuzzy pillows. "Just something silly."

"Alice, anything that manages to upset you is anything but silly," I said gravely, staring her straight in the eyes. "What's wrong?"

"Well," she said hesitantly, "Jazz has been acting so weird lately. I don't know what's wrong with him. He's always coming home late from the publishing office, and he's always saying he has somewhere to go, and leaving at five in the morning…"

"Oh." I got what she was saying – and frankly, to me it sounded pretty ridiculous. "Oh, Alice," I said comfortingly, "Jasper would never cheat on you, okay? Don't you believe for a second that – "

"Oh, I know that," she snapped. "Please. Jasper couldn't cheat on…I don't know, a fly. What I'm really worried about is that he always seems so tired and so…distracted." Her shoulders slumped. "I don't know, it's just…he's never acted like this. Never. It's strange."

I frowned. "I haven't noticed any of that."

She rolled her eyes. "Well, of course you haven't. You're so wrapped up in my brother that you can barely even think straight."

I flushed magenta – partially because it was embarrassing, and partially because it was true. "So what's wrong, then? Those are all symptoms of cheating, but both you and I know Jasper isn't capable of anything like that – besides, he loves you too much. So what is it…?"

She looked at me from the corner of her eye and whispered, "I think…Bella, I think he's going to propose."

"What?" I almost upended the tray in my surprise. "Alice!" I scolded. "Don't scare me like that."

"I'm not scaring you, Bells," she said, shaking her head sadly. "I think he's going to ask me to marry him. And Bella…" she sucked in a deep breath. "I think I'm going to say yes."

"Alice, I – " I struggled to find the right words. "What if…what if that's not it? What if it's something else?"

"Bella," she said, looking at me as if I had two heads, "When has my intuition ever failed?"

"Well, never, but – "

"Trust me on this, then. He's going to ask, and he's going to ask soon."

Did it make me a bad friend that I felt stupendously angry? I didn't _want_ Alice to leave me. It was selfish, I knew, but she was my best friend. I couldn't even remember how to live without waking up to a barrage of fashion tips and positive remarks. Besides, she was more accurate than the weatherman – how was I supposed to navigate New York weather without her guidance?

"Isn't this a big step?" I choked out, clutching at the couch with unnecessary force. "Are you sure you're ready for that?"

"Come on, Bella," she said, exasperated. "How could I not be ready for Jazz to become that big of a part of my life? We've always been meant for each other. He knows that and I know that. Besides, we've been dating for two years – we're not about to get sick of each other and call off the whole engagement."

"If there even is one…" I muttered bitterly.

"Bella, what's wrong with you?" She asked angrily, shoving me lightly in the arm. "Why aren't you happy?" Her eyes glared at me accusingly.

"I…" I sighed. "I don't know. I guess I'm just not ready to give you up." I gave her a sheepish smile.

"Oh." Her expression softened, and she gently twined her arms around me in a hug. "Don't worry," She said into my shoulder, her voice muffled. "We'll be together for a while yet. Just be prepared, okay?"

"Okay," I whispered, my eyes darting around the room and drinking in their surroundings – for all I knew, this was my last yellow day. Ever.

It felt like my world was splitting at the seams.

**ASADSFADS ASADSFADS ASADSFADS**

I walked into work with the air of a drowned cat.

"Hey, Bella," Jessica said snippily, eyeing me with a smirk on her face.

_Insert swear word here_, I thought sourly, glaring at her as I made my way to my office. Mondays were generally intolerable, but Jessica seemed to make them a whole lot worse.

I shoved open the door to my office with a bang and flung my workbag into a corner, stepping out of my heels and chucking them at the wall. I hoped they chipped the wallpaper. I grimaced and plunked down into my chair and turned on the computer, glaring at it the entire time.

I didn't need to be Alice to know it was going to be "one of _those_ days".

"What?" I snapped as Laurent poked his head around my door, peering at me anxiously. "Do you need something?"

"Uh, Emmett just wanted me to give this to you to give to Edward. So…you know…" he started stuttering as I silently fumed at him. "Just, here, okay?" He shoved a Manilla envelope in my general direction and scurried out of the room.

"Good riddance," I said angrily, still steaming. I didn't even know why I was so mad, really – I just decided to attribute it to the whole "Monday atmosphere".

I breathed in deeply through my nostrils as the Word document began to load, leaning on the desk with one elbow and tapping spasmodically on the keyboard. In my boredom, I decided to make a list of areas where my life needed improvement.

One – Tyler. That basically explained itself.

Two – Victoria. Rosalie had said that I just needed to survive the week and I would finally be able to have a normal relationship with Edward, but I was seriously starting to doubt that I would make it that far. Jessica seemed to be eyeing my every move in case of a mess up, and Lauren was lurking threateningly in the background, not to mention the fact that Victoria seemed to be catching on, too. They had all noticed what was happening between Edward and me. Somehow, I needed to convince them that they were all wrong, even though they weren't.

Three – Edward. There wasn't anything wrong with Edward, really, but our relationship was so volatile. It was like a volcano waiting to blow at any moment – you just never knew when. I wasn't sure if it was my problem, or Edward's, but for some reason, we kept arguing with and bothering one another. I needed to figure out a way to fix that.

Four – Alice. If she was as sure as she said she was, which seemed pretty sure, then I would soon be losing my flat mate. And my breakfast maker. And my fashionista. And my forecaster. And my best friend. What would I do without her?

I growled in aggravation and banged on the desktop. Just the thought of her leaving made me antsy and uncomfortable and unsure and self-conscious all at once.

No wonder I was having such a bad day.

Well, I reasoned with myself, I wouldn't really be able to work under such conditions. At least, not work well. Hadn't I seen something on the Today show about taking a walk to clear your senses if you were stuck in a rut? Well, even if I hadn't, it still sounded like a good idea.

A walk. That would calm me down. Though, of course, walking so much as down the hallway would require passing Jessica, which would set me off all over again…

So maybe I would just go to the lounge. Yeah – a walk to the lounge, where I would grab a cup of coffee, and…yeah. That sounded good. Coffee was good. Walking was good. Lounging was good.

I nodded and heaved myself out of my chair, slipping my shoes back on and exiting my office a lot less angry than I had entered. Laurent was milling about outside and seemed surprised to find me in such a drastically better mood.

"Ah, hello, Bella," he said nervously, running a hand through his slicked-back black hair. "How are you?"

"Fine," I said curtly, having to stop myself from saying anymore lest I bite his head off. After all, Laurent wasn't whom my problem was with – my problem was mainly with myself, so I shouldn't take out my anger on him.

Though it did sound like it would be fun…

I shook off that idea and made my way to the lounge, smiling to myself when I saw that it was empty. I needed to be by myself for a while. I quickly made myself an Espresso and seated myself in one of the big, black reclining chairs, sipping my drink quietly and gaining more serenity with each gulp.

It was going great, actually, until Lauren decided to pop in.

**ASADSFADS ASADSFADS ASADSFADS**

"Hello," I said stiffly, nodding my head in her direction as she made herself comfortable in the matching black recliner opposite of me.

"Hey," she said, her eyes meeting mine.

I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. "Um…did you want something?" I was pleasantly surprised to find that I wasn't too tempted to verbally assault her. The coffee had done an excellent job of calming me down.

She gazed owlishly at me without saying anything.

I fidgeted. "Um…"

"Thank you," she said suddenly, her expression still watchful.

"I – oh. Um, you're welcome." I stared at her blankly. "For what?"

"Taking Angela's position instead of mine," she said, tilting her head slightly to the side. "Why did you do that, by the way? I have the better job. Better pay, better hours…more perks, more benefits. You could have taken mine easily. It would have been better for you, really."

I shrugged, deciding to be honest with her. "I don't know. I just…it didn't seem fair. I mean, I know what it's like to be stuck with Tyler. With someone who doesn't _really_ love you – not really. If you were fired, then you'd really be stuck with him."

She rolled her eyes. "Pity, then? That's why?"

"Also, I was a little scared," I admitted.

She nodded. "That's what I thought. You didn't want Victoria to know about you and Edward."

I shrugged noncommittally and edged around the question. "You didn't deserve to go out of a job."

She pursed her lips. "Well. Thanks."

"You're welcome."

We stared at each other for a long moment.

"How did you know, anyway?" I asked, unable to keep my mouth shut. "About Victoria wanting to…you know."

"It doesn't take too long to get Jessica to tell you something, if you know what to do. It's always obvious when she has a secret, anyway. She keeps looking at you and then away and then giggling." Lauren smiled wryly. "I try not to tell her too much."

I grinned. "Smart."

There was another uneasy silence.

"So, how's Tyler?" I asked, sniffing slightly. Not the best ice-breaker I'd ever thought of, but it was something.

She blinked at me. "I don't know. I haven't seen him since last night. He said he was going out to meet someone."

"Oh…I…" I sucked in a breath. "I'm sorry." Yes, I was sorry – he had probably been referring to me, which made this situation doubly awkward.

"I'm used to it," she said, giving me a tight smile.

"So, um," I continued, desperate not to let another void-like silence fill the room, "How did you know I was in here?"

"Jessica," she said simply. "She said you looked like you were in desperate need of caffeine."

"Oh. And, uh, how's Victoria?"

For the first time in our conversation, Lauren seemed uncomfortable. "I'm not really sure. She's been avoiding me. When I do see her, she's always on her phone or talking to Jessica." She frowned. "I would be careful, if I were you."

"Oh." My eyes widened. "Thanks for telling me."

"No problem."

I took in another unnecessary breath.

"So, um, I'd better get going," I said hurriedly, crushing my empty Styrofoam cup in my hand and lobbing it into the trashcan.

She nodded.

"Okay, so, um, nice talking to you, Lauren." I smiled weakly at her – I hoped she couldn't tell how much she creeped me out, despite the fact that she wasn't that bad of a person.

"Nice talking to you, too, Bella," she said, still sitting in her chair and staring at me with a strange expression on her face. It was almost like she was trying to stare right through me.

I shuddered and hurried out of the room. Suddenly, work seemed like a really good option.

**ASADSFADS ASADSFADS ASADSFADS**

I was updating Edward's schedule when someone knocked on my door.

"It's open," I called, angling my head slightly towards the door. "Just come in."

I heard a loud chuckle before the door opened and a tall figure strode in.

"Um, hi," I said, my eyebrows rising as I took in the man before me – he wasn't quite as tall as Edward, but still of substantially greater height than I. His hair was also very odd – it was a kind of dirty-ish blonde, the color I'd heard people refer to as "dishwater". It didn't seem like it quite suited him.

"Hello," he said, his voice sounding familiar. He stuck out one hand and smirked at me as I slowly shook it. He obviously thought he was intimidating me.

"Do you need something?" I asked politely, keeping my expression blank.

He grinned wolfishly, his white teeth flashing. "Actually, I was wondering if Mr. Cullen was here."

"I'm sorry, but Mr. Cullen is currently in a meeting," I grabbed a pen and notepad. "However, if you can tell me your name and number, I can tell him you stopped by and have him give you a call."

"Alright," he said, smiling strangely at me, like our conversation was amusing him. "It's James Lawrence – he'll know who I am – and my number is 540-6647. Got it?" He seemed doubly amused at the sight of my chicken scratch handwriting scrawled across the paper – his grey eyes were twinkling.

"Got it," I said, giving him a brief nod of my head.

"Mmhm," he nodded back at me. "I'll be expecting that call soon." He winked at me and walked back out through the door.

I blinked at his retreating figure. Did he just…?

I shook my head. It must be something in the water.

I turned to the sheet of paper in front of me and typed the name and number into Edward's to-do list, something I would give to him as soon as he returned from his meeting. He had already received three calls this morning, and had a lunch date with a client (I couldn't remember which) at _La Scala _at 11:00…

Suddenly, I remembered something – the tall man had said his name was "James Lawrence", as in "Mr. Lawrence", as in the head of Matherson Corporations, as in the man that had seen me sleeping at my desk. As in the man that was prosecuting Jacob.

As in the man that had just hit on me.

My eyes widened. I had expected someone whose personality sounded so acidic to look rather…well, similarly acidic. Instead, he was actually handsome, in a Jasper-mixed-with-Tyler kind of way, which I found vaguely creepy.

I blushed when I realized why he seemed so amused – he was probably surprised that I was actually awake at my job. I groaned and slumped in my seat. Now, every time that I saw him – which would probably be often, considering that he was Edward's main case – I would be reminded of my incompetence.

Great.

There was another quick rap at my door, and I quickly gave a dull, "Come on in," before the tall man poked his head in once more.

"Sorry to bother you," he said, grinning wickedly, "but I didn't catch your name."

"Isabella Swan," I said stiffly, unwilling to let him know my nickname.

"Do you mind if I call you Bella?" he asked, raising his eyebrows. "It seems as though we'll be spending some time together today – after all, you're coming with Mr. Cullen to _La Scala _in an hour, correct?"

I gaped at him. Had he just invited me to his lunch meeting with Edward?

"Well, I don't know, I'm not really – I'm rather – I have some papers – " I started spluttering, unsure how to convey the fact that it was inappropriate for me to join them.

"No worries," he said, waving his hands in the air as if he could magically make my workload disappear. "I'll talk to Edward." He winked again.

I glowered at him.

He laughed at my outward display of hostility. "No wonder he keeps you around – a guy like him, I'd expect him to cycle through secretaries like that." He snapped his fingers in the air. "But you're pretty, uh, what's the word? Ah, right – vibrant." His grin broadened at my obvious displeasure.

"Mr. Cullen merely has _professional_ relationships with all of the staff, Mr. Lawrence," I spat.

He just smirked. "Well, really, _Bella_, what do you expect me to think when you've got a guy like that surrounded by several pretty, willing women? I've seen some of them when I came in, all flirting with him." He shook his head, smiling. "God, what a life." He then eyed me critically. "'Course, you're the only one he really seems to care about. Keep the ones you like best closest, right?"

I flushed red. "I'll let Mr. Cullen know you stopped by."

"Sure thing, sugar." He winked again – what was with him and winking? "I'll see you at lunch – and don't forget to call." And then he disappeared out the door, a stream of laughter following in his wake.

"What an arrogant, pig-headed jerk," I said to myself angrily, typing furiously on the computer. My fingers paused, though, when I realized something odd – if he was just going to see Edward today at lunch, then why would he need to stop by to give him his number? Obviously, Edward already had it anyway…he had to, if he wanted to keep in touch with his client.

Mr. Lawrence must have had an ulterior motive, then – another reason for stopping by my office.

I blushed when I realized the ulterior motive had probably just been to poke fun at me.

**ASADSFADS ASADSFADS ASADSFADS**

"You're not coming."

"Edward, the man practically forced me into it, how can I not?"

"It's not appropriate."

"I know that. And he knows it too, probably – he just wants to goad you."

"He's doing a damn fine job of it."

"Edward, he called you and asked specifically for me to come. I don't want you to lose your main client over me."

Edward glared at me and sullenly crossed his arms in front of his chest, sitting on the edge of his desk and swinging his legs back and forth like a child. "I still don't think you should come."

I sighed and placed my hands on his knees. "We need to keep this a secret for just a week longer, okay? It shouldn't be too hard – but if you let him see how protective you are, you might as well just tell Victoria, too."

He continued to sulk.

"Please, Edward," I said softly, staring into his eyes. Once again, I was captivated by how beautiful they were, something that always managed to make me feel horribly shallow.

He slowly closed his eyes, his eyelashes resting on his cheekbones. "Fine," he breathed, taking my hands in his and holding them between us.

"Thank you," I said, smiling and giving his hand a gentle squeeze.

"I hope you don't think I _am_ too protective," he said quietly, drawing me in slightly closer.

"Not at all," I assured him rather dazedly. I couldn't quite think straight when we were so close.

"It's just, there are so many others who are all so…they all have things I don't," he said, his angel face scrunching up into a mask of frustration. "They have more experience, or they're more carefree, or less busy, or have more of your interests…they all have ways they could hold your attention."

"Edward, there's nobody but you – there will _never_ be anybody but you," I replied loyally. My cheeks instantly colored red when I realized that I had come dangerously close to saying that I would either spend the rest of my life with him or be a spinster, which was only a step away from admitting love.

He smiled sadly. "That's what everybody says. They say I'm crazy for being so scared, but I can't help it, Bella. There are so many men out there who would kill to be with you, and I'm the lucky chump who actually gets to? It seems too good to be true. I feel like at any moment it's all going to be taken out from under me."

"I'm staying," I said fiercely, tightening my hold on his hands. "You're not getting rid of me so easy, Mr. Cullen."

He laughed, and I quickly inhaled his breath – it was like he was constantly chewing tic-tacs or something; nobody's breath was naturally that minty-fresh.

His eyes opened, and I was startled by how…dark they looked. That was something else that astounded me about Edward – his eyes were always changing. Now they were a deep Evergreen, the color of pine needles, whereas they were usually a lighter, clearer, perfectly-manicured-lawn green.

"Bella," he said, his voice low, "Would you mind very much if I – ?"

"You don't need to ask," I responded, and pressed my lips to his before he could finish his sentence.

Without even meaning to, I was surrounded by him – every place he touched crackled with electricity, every movement of his hands in my hair or his arm circled around my back sent a shock up my spine, and every brush of his fingers against my bare skin sent a tingle of thrill through my nervous system. I was handicapped to an almost embarrassing degree – all I could see, smell, hear, and taste was Edward. All I could think about was Edward. And while I was kissing him, the rest of the world held its breath.

That's what made it such utter bliss.

I threw myself even more into him, and smiled as he swiveled around and slowly leaned me against the desk. Or was it really even a desk? I couldn't remember – for all I knew, it was the floor, or a bed, or a tropical beach in Hawaii. My entire world consisted of only him and myself. It had no room for unnecessary objects such as things we were laying on.

Suddenly, his lips weren't attacking mine anymore, and were instead trailing down my neck and towards that "danger" region that extended from the second button on my blouse to the bottom of my collarbone. At the last minute, though, his head dipped from the side of my neck back up my jaw line, his nose grazing my cheekbone.

I wrapped my legs around his waist and smiled. I loved my job.

"I think we're going to have to stop there," he said, lifting his head from by the side of my face and gazing down at me, his expression clearly indicating that he had no greater desire than to continue with what he had been doing.

"Oh," I said breathlessly, sitting up rather awkwardly and disentangling myself from him.

He laughter sounded slightly restrained. "I don't think I could have contained myself if we went on."

I smiled. It was nice to know I had that effect on him, as well. "Well," I said, still sounding out of breath, "I think we'll have to go see Mr. Lawrence."

Immediately, the room's buoyant atmosphere deflated.

"Right," Edward said crossly, helping me back down to the floor from his desk and proceeding to glare menacingly at the wallpaper.

I rolled my eyes. "I just spent a good twenty minutes showing you that you have nothing to worry about, and you're _still _anxious?"

He sighed. "Right, I know. But what if he tries something? He's known as a huge flirt – no doubt he'll try to seduce you at our lunch table, probably over the entrée, no less." His eyes narrowed. "And I won't be able to do anything about it. That's what I hate about this whole thing – " he threw his hands in the air, " – I'm not even able to claim you as mine. I just have to sit back…and watch."

"No, Edward. You won't have to watch, because nothing will happen. I can take care of myself. _I _can tell him to back off. _I_ can get just as indignant as you. _I_ can refuse him – I don't need you to do that for me."

He eyed me skeptically. "You don't seem to be able to do that with Tyler."

I blushed. "Tyler's insane, and, as far as I've seen, Mr. Lawrence is perfectly lucid. You deal with people differently when they have different states of mind."

He took in a deep breath and tried to smile. "Okay."

I smiled. "Don't worry. Everything will be fine."

I failed to mention, though, that I didn't quite have the foresight of Alice – my predictions almost always turned out wrong.

**A/N: Yay, foreshadowing. **

**So, regarding the length of this story, I'm going to give it a lifespan of about two to five more chapters before it ends (probably around three, but I'm not entirely certain).**

**And, I am leaving for DC on Sunday and will be gone for a week, and I highly doubt I will update before then…but, actually, that shouldn't worry you, because I have planned the last two chapters out in my head completely. Well, vaguely, at least. **

**What I'm trying to say is, I'll update a whole lot sooner. **

**(Oh, and, did anyone catch that "It must be something in the water" reference, or is that just me?)**


End file.
